Senate Candidate Tom Conroy Drops Out

Citing the strength of Elizabeth Warren's campaign, Tom Conroy Monday officially announced his withdrawal from the 2012 U.S. Senate campaign. Conroy will instead run for a fourth term in the Massachusetts house.

“It’s the right thing to do for me, for my family, for the people of the 13th Middlesex District,” Conroy said in a phone call with Patch.

Conroy, a Democrat from Wayland, race in June and soon thereafter throughout the Commonwealth geared toward meeting constituents and talking through issues.

When Warren, a Harvard Law professor, entered the race in September, Conroy said, her candidacy gave the other individuals already in the race  “a lot of pause” and caused them “to reevaluate the validity” of their own campaigns.

Conroy said he saw the possibility of gaining more traction in both media attention and fundraising in the months following Warren’s entering the race, particularly with the two debates scheduled this fall.

“Quite frankly there was a bit of reluctance to fold up the effort after that 650-mile walk throughout the state,” Conroy told Patch.

An announcement on his state representative’s page expresses thanks for the “generous” contributions of time, effort and money of supporters, but states “we could not run the kind of campaign we needed to run throughout next year.”

Conroy said that he will now support Warren in the battle to capture Sen. Scott Brown’s seat in the 2012 election. Warren currently leads in the Democratic polls.

Contenders remaining in the Democratic primary race include Marisa DeFranco, a North Shore lawyer; Herb Robinson, a Newton resident; and James C. King, a lawyer. Conroy today joined Brookline resident , and Somerville resident who previously withdrew their candidacies.