Eamon Kelly Drops Out Of Race To Replace Sen. Daniel Biss

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston Democratic Committeeman Eamon Kelly dropped out of the race for the state senate Wednesday and endorsed Rep. Laura Fine for the 9th District seat being vacated by Sen. Daniel Biss's run for governor. Kelly announced he will be serving as a senior adviser to the Biss campaign.

In an open letter, Kelly said he made his decision because of the stakes in the 2018 election, when the country faces "once-in-a-generation threats to our core American values."

"In Washington, Donald Trump is consumed with defending white supremacists and Nazis, while Republicans continue to work to strip healthcare from millions of Americans," Kelly wrote.

In his announcement that he was ending his bid for the state senate, Kelly said he would seek reelection to a second full term as Evanston Township Democratic Committeeman in March and focus on working with progressive grassroots in Evanston "to resist and defeat the right-wing Trump-Rauner agenda in the coming election."

"I believe that the most helpful and effective contribution I can personally make in this moment," said Kelly, "is not as a candidate for state office, but, rather, as a leader and mobilizer who can life the voices of progressive candidates across the ballot."

Kelly's campaign had highlighted his experience helping to organize the Evanston/Skokie District 65 school funding referendum and as chief of staff at the Illinois Board of Education.

Promotional video from Kelly's state senate campaign:

_{Top photo: Eamon Kelly | Courtesy Eamon Kelly campaign}