A New Hampshire Republican candidate has suspended his campaign after his 1989 murder conviction was revealed.
Republican Mark Edgington, 53, told the New Hampshire Bulletin last week that he had hoped voters would look past his 1989 second-degree murder conviction, but that it becoming public had caused him and his family distress.
He also claimed that the Journal’s reporting of him has been unfair, inaccurate, and “salacious”.
“When I embarked on this, I expected fair, respectful treatment by the press and my party, and to serve my constituents,” Edgington said. “[The reporting] is causing me mental stress and affecting my family relations. I don’t need this.”
Edgington was 18 years old when he pleaded “no contest” in Florida to a second-degree murder charge in connection with the beating and strangulation death of a motel manager. He maintains his innocence and told the Bulletin that he was hiding in the motel bathroom during the killing was carried out by a friend.
Edgington was sentenced to 25 years in prison but served eight years.
New Hampshire House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Osborne, a Republican, backed Edgington in his campaign but the New Hampshire Republican Party did not, the Bulletin reported.
“I am disappointed to see members of our party pander to the liberal media and feign outrage without giving the candidate the dignity of so much as a phone call,” Osborne told the Bulletin.
“Mark made a horrible mistake 37 years ago and has spent his life doing good in this world, good which party leaders willfully ignore. Still I look forward to putting this in the rearview and continuing to work to expand our Republican majority in the House.”
On Friday, the New Hampshire Republican Party issued a statement endorsing Edgington’s opponents.
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