A Republican candidate for the New York state Senate can quit her marriage, but she said on Friday she doesn’t have it in her to quit the campaign.
Gia Arnold, a 24-year-old conservative activist, abruptly announced last week that she was halting her campaign after she revealed that she’d had an extramarital affair two weeks earlier and had subsequently left her husband.
But on Friday, according to The State of Politics blog, Arnold announced that she had been persuaded by a flood of messages urging her to stay in the race.
“We do need someone in Albany who will represent us all, in making things better, and telling the truth about all aspects of that public service,” Arnold said in her statement, according to the blog. “I have realized, after much thought and prayer, that I am still that candidate, despite my shortcomings, and it has been pointed out to me by the hundreds and hundreds of messages I have received.”
When Arnold announced her affair last week, she said she planned to remain on the ballot but would not actively campaign. Her latest statement appeared to make no mention of whether she planned to try to reconcile her marriage.
