From Staff Reports

Dr. Dan Eichenbaum announced recently that he is dropping out of the 11th District congressional race.

Eichenbaum, who was endorsed by the Asheville Tea Party, among other groups, did not endorse any other candidate. He is an ophthalmologist from Murphy.

“With the filing deadline upon us, having spent many of the past days in prayer and discussions with family and friends. I have decided that I will not file for U.S. Congress for North Carolina’s 11th District,” he stated in an e-mail.

Dr. Dan Eichenbaum

He cited policies and money as the chief reasons for canceling his campaign.

“Over the past several months of the campaign, listening to the other candidates for Congress in N.C. 11, I find increasingly little difference, on paper or in words, between the positions I have consistently held and theirs. More importantly, I am unable to self-fund sufficiently to compete against those who can. As such, I see no clear path to victory in the primary.”

Eichenbaum thanked his family and supporters for their backing.

“For those candidates seeking the support of grassroots groups, especially those affiliated with the iCaucus, I urge you to submit to its vetting process. Evaluation and approval of your platform by independent groups gives citizens of this district the ability to hold you accountable for your actions in Washington, D.C.”

He added, “Be assured, I will continue to champion private-property rights, constitutionally limited government, personal responsibility, fiscal restraint, individual liberty and a free market economy based on the principles of sound monetary policy.

“As patriots, we must resist — with vigor — the elitists in the current administration and their fellow travelers in both parties who seek to seal our birthright of freedom and replace it with the tyranny of soclialism,” Eichenbaum concluded.