Lamond Daniels, the candidate who placed third in November’s four-way race for mayor of Bridgeport, has announced that he has dropped out of this month’s court-ordered redo of the election and endorsed incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim.
Daniels, who got 13% of the vote last November, said that he had dropped out of the do-over election in Bridgeport and endorsed Ganim to unify the Democratic Party behind Ganim, who won 41% of the vote.
“Because I am a proud Democrat, and to have a united front," he said, during a joint appearance with Ganim at his campaign headquarters.
“And while I did not plan to make this endorsement. But in meetings with the mayor, I have been pleased by his openness to new ideas and other viewpoints and his ability to move beyond politics for the sake of our city,” he said
Daniels is one of two candidates who lost to Ganim in the city’s three-way Democratic primary last September. A court found that that election was marred by absentee ballot box stuffing from Ganim supporters.
“This is a big day for Bridgeport. It's a good day for Bridgeport,” Ganim said in response to the endorsement.
Candidate John Gomes, who obtained the court-ordered redo after challenging Ganim’s primary win, condemned the endorsement.
“Daniels has betrayed the people of Bridgeport by endorsing the status quo,” he said.
The Feb. 27 do-over election will now have three candidates: Democrat Joe Ganim, Independent John Gomes, and Republican David Herz.
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