Democrat Pete Festersen has decided, again, not to run for Rep. Lee Terry’s (R-NE) House seat.
Festersen, president of the Omaha City Council told the Omaha World-Herald on Monday that he had decided to drop out of the race for Terry’s seat.
“It is the right time for moderate, practical-minded people to make a difference, but I’ve determined it’s not the right time for me or my young family to run for national office,” Festersen told the Nebraska newspaper.
This marks the second time Festersen has opted out of the race for Terry’s seat, despite being aggressively encouraged to run by national Democrats.
In August Festersen said he would not run for Terry’s seat. But in October, during the federal government shutdown, Terry said lawmakers who had decided to give their paycheck to charity or forego it all together during the government shutdown were just doing it to get publicity. Roughly a week after that Festersen jumped into the race.
According to the World-Herald, Festersen made the decision over the weekend and, as of Monday, was in the process of notifying national Democrats that he decided not to run.
