Ill. Republican Activist Drops Walsh Challenge

A well-known Republican Party activist and school official in Illinois has ended her primary challenge to tea party-backed GOP Rep. Joe Walsh, according to the Chicago Tribune.

 

Darlene Ruscitti, the DuPage County school superintendent, was quoted by the Tribune as saying her role “as a leader within the Illinois Republican Party” and a “desire to avoid a costly primary” outweighed her personal political aspirations.

 

The newspaper said Ruscitti had been backed in her effort to unseat Walsh by seven-term Republican Congresswoman Judy Biggert.

Walsh praised Ruscitti in a statement for putting her country and party “ahead of political interest.”