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Tallahassee, FL – Leon County Commissioner Bob Rackleff announced Friday morning that he is withdrawing his bid for a fourth term, yielding the field to Commissioner-Elect Kristin Dozier. Margie Menzel reports.
You could see that the rumors were true just from the way Rackleff and his wife, Esther, were holding hands en route to the courthouse.
"I'm withdrawing from the election scheduled for Nov. 2," he said. "I just submitted a letter stating that to the Supervisor of Elections, and Kristin Dozier will be elected."
Rackleff said he realized the majority of his district had voted against him. Dozier, a political newcomer, beat Rackleff in Tuesday's primary by 11 percentage points with 46 percent to his 35 percent. David Ward was third with nearly 19 percent.
"I carefully studied the detailed results of Tuesday's election," said Rackleff, "concluded that the odds against me winning were insurmountable, and that continuing my campaign would be irresponsible."
Rackleff pledged to help Dozier succeed, and she responded in kind.
"This not only gives me the opportunity to study up for the next two months and really come in prepared to do the job on Day One," Dozier said, "but also gives me the opportunity to benefit from Commissioner Rackleff's long experience and his service to this community, which is very valuable."
Rackleff was first elected to the County Commission in 1998 and had been seeking a fourth term.