Halter withdraws from governor's race

Former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter says he is withdrawing from the race for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Halter announced the decision Monday in an email to his supporters. He faced former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, who Halter called a strong opponent.

"... [S]ince we announced our gubernatorial campaign another strong candidate has entered the primary election and in order to avoid a divisive primary and to help unite the Democratic Party, I am ending my campaign for Governor," Halter wrote. "I congratulate Mike Ross on a great start to his campaign and I will be working hard to elect him and other Democratic nominees for office in the coming election."

DATABASE: 2014 Gubernatorial campaign contributions ($1,000 or more)

Halter has been mentioned as a possible challenger to U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, who is running for reelection in the 2nd District. His statement didn't address his political future, saying only that Halter and his wife are "proud to be raising our daughters here and we’ll continue to do all we can to build a brighter future for them and for all Arkansans."

Bud Jackson, a spokesman for the Halter campaign, said he wouldn't address any "rumors" about Halter entering another race.

"We're definitely not going to play the rumor game," Jackson said. "... I wouldn't say he's ruling it in or ruling it out. I'd say today he's focused on exiting the governor's race and thanking his supporters."

Halter thanked his supporters and volunteers and called withdrawing a "disappointing outcome." He also touched on his major campaign proposal to fully fund tuition for in-state students.

"Our campaign plan was to advance a set of ideas to move our state forward in education while creating jobs and improving living standards — all without raising taxes and while making state government operate more efficiently," he wrote. "Our first proposal, The Arkansas Promise, would provide full tuition for higher education for those who earn it and builds on the great success of the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship program. Thanks to the help and support of Arkansans, we passed a constitutional amendment creating the scholarship lottery that to date has provided over 100,000 scholarships totaling over $300 million without raising taxes. You have demonstrated that big improvements are possible."

See Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more on this story.