Atlantic County Commissioner John Risley is leaving the LD2 Assembly race, announcing on Monday that “the time has come to take a different course.”
Risley’s departure from the GOP primary leaves Atlantic County Councilman Jesse Kurtz, ex-A.C. Mayor Don Guardian, and attorney Claire Swift competing for two Assembly nomination slots.
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Risley didn’t make an endorsement announcement along with his statement. Guardian and Swift are running as a team with ex-Assemblyman Vince Polistina who is making his second bid (a decade apart) for the State Senate.
Perennial candidate Seth Grossman is also running for Senate.
Kurtz continues to run independently from the behind-the-scenes political maneuvers which ensued following incumbent State Senator Chris Brown’s surprise retirement announcement. The charismatic and conservative millennial father of seven – who represents A.C.’s diverse 6th Ward – says his internal count has him in the top two ahead of the county nominating convention.
“Gaining support every day,” said Kurtz.
