Scott withdraws from Senate race

MOSCOW, Idaho – Latah County voters will have a changed ballot this November.

Patricia Scott, the Democrat running for the District 6 seat of the Idaho state Senate, told The Spokesman-Review Tuesday she was planning on withdrawing from the race.

“It’s because of my husband’s health,” she said during a brief phone call Tuesday.

The Latah County Democrats are now looking for a new candidate to face 12-year incumbent Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow.

Jim Wallis, chair of the Latah County Democrats, said he only heard the news from Scott on Monday.

“Patricia Scott entered the race back where there was a primary contest between Gary Schroeder and Gregg Vance. She thought it was important that if Vance should win the nomination, the Democrats should offer a real alternative,” he said.

The Democrats found Vance’s platform objectionable, he said.

“We were very concerned that if Mr. Vance had won the primary, he would have gotten a free ride into the Senate. We were not going to let that happen” so Scott stepped up, even though she was facing family health concerns, he said.

Scott is a former chair of the Latah County Democrats. She is known in Moscow as an active and involved community member. As a write-in candidate in the primary, she got 338 votes.

The elections office for the Idaho secretary of state had not yet received Scott’s letter of resignation Tuesday. Once the letter arrives, the local party has 15 days to put a new candidate in place. Wallis said the county Democratic party now is trying to contact potential candidates.

News that Scott might drop out came as no surprise to Schroeder, who knows her and said he holds her in high esteem. “I hadn’t seen her out campaigning,” he said. “We wondered if she was going to withdraw.”

Scott’s departure will not change Schroeder’s campaign plans for the next two months, he said. “I like going out and meeting people,” said the state senator. “We’ve taken the time to do that this summer.”