Tim Crawford is the ex-Republican Democratic nominee for Congress in Indiana’s fifth district. He appeared at an event hosted by the Hamilton County Democrat Women over the weekend. It did not go well.
The heated meeting ended with Crawford saying he would withdraw, which was followed by Crawford withdrawing his withdrawal — in the form of an apology letter that also cited his mother’s illness as an explanation for his “emotional actions.”
So what exactly happened at this meeting?
It was intended to be a meet-and-greet between local Democratic women and Crawford, who, according to HCDW President Mary Ray, was an unknown entity to Democrats following his primary win on May 4.
In an e-mail statement to TPM, Ray said she thought it was “important to give the club an
opportunity to get acquainted with the candidate who was going to be on the ballot in November.”
But somehow, things spiraled out of control for Crawford.
Ray said that the subject of Crawford’s “connection with the Democratic Party” came up, and Crawford indicated “there was no part of the Democratic platform he could support. I believe that was the first time it was suggested that maybe he should not run as a Democrat.”
Crawford explained to TPM that he ran for office as a Democrat primarily because he had to — because he registered as a Democrat and voted for Barack Obama in the Democratic primary in 2008. He added that he voted for John McCain in the general election, because he saw Obama’s “true colors coming out.”
As a pro-life, pro-gun rights candidate who believes in limited government, Crawford said he “knew the concept of what the original Democrats stood for,” and he “decided I’ll just step in here” to “make the Democrats open their eyes.”
Trish Whitcomb, a member of the group who attended the event, told TPM that Crawford said that “he could feel the hate in this room.”
Whitcomb also mentioned that Crawford said that “being gay is a genetic mutation,” but that he backtracked, kinda: “Oh, you know, a mutation that causes people to be different.”
Apparently, all the tension and back-and-forth led Crawford to declare that he was dropping out.
But in a statement posted on his website Monday, Crawford said that despite what he said at the event, he will not be resigning:
After being bombarded by disagreeing group interjections, I was flustered and felt bullied. This led me to make an irrational and provoked response that I was dropping out of the race. I believe this was their agenda all along.
“Why should I let their will and influence override my dream for our country?” he asked, adding that “I want the people who agree and disagree with me, to go through this campaign learning that the grass is not greener on this side.”
He said the event taught him a “valuable and humbling lesson,” but his “emotions had been building for a while and got the best of me on that day,” describing his mother’s battle with pancreatic cancer.
Crawford told TPM that at the event, some in the group dismissed him as “just a Tea Party member,” and that though he sympathizes with the Tea Party message, he hasn’t “been contacted by any Tea Party members or even gone to any of their meetings or anything like that.”
“It was just a bad situation,” he said, adding “fool me once, shame on me.”
But Crawford was hopeful about his chances in the general election: “At this point I think the tree of liberty needs to be refreshed.”
For her part, Mary Ray thinks Crawford should still resign:
Indiana election laws allow a candidate to resign for any reason. Mr Crawford should remain true to his offer to resign while there is time to choose a candidate who can defeat the “Washington as usual” incumbent.
But Trish Whitcomb said she’s since learned that Crawford has threatened to resign before, so his reversal is nothing new.
