James Mugford, an attorney backed by the Republican City Committee for City Commissioner, pulled out of the race today.
Mugford was endorsed by City Committee in addition to incumbent Republican Commissioner Joe Duda. Mugford's endorsement was seen largely as an effort to aid Duda by blocking GOP upstart Al Schmidt from one of the two Republican slots in the general election ballot.
Republican City Committee General Counsel Michael Meehan said Mugford notified them that he wanted to pull out earlier this week.
"He had been a candidate before and it's much worse than it used to be. He ran for Congress a couple times," Meehan said.
No doubt Mugford's departure will help Schmidt. But Marie Delany remains in the Republican pool for Commissioner, so the GOP could put their muscle behind her.
Currently the City Commissioners are made up of two Democrats and one Republican. The Republican City Committee is committed to keeping Duda in that Republican slot.