TOPEKA — Democratic nominee Aaron Coleman said Sunday he planned to quit his general election campaign for a Kansas House seat representing a district in Kansas City, Kan.
Coleman, who narrowly defeated seven-term incumbent Rep. Stan Frownfelter in the August primary, said he intended to rely on the medical hardship provision in state law defining the ability of candidates to withdraw from the ballot.
“For me and my family, I have no choice but to use medical hardship to take my name off the ballot and allow the Democratic precinct people to choose the next nominee,” Coleman said in an interview with the Wyandotte Daily.
State law restricts the ability of a nominee to voluntarily withdraw. Since 2015, a nominee must certify to the secretary of state that he or she is withdrawing because of “severe medical hardship to self or immediate family, with certification of medical hardship signed by a doctor.” A withdrawal also could be accepted by the secretary of state if the candidate no longer resided in Kansas or had died.
In the primary, Coleman captured 823 votes to 809 for Frownfelter. There was no Republican on the primary ballot in the 37th District. Frownfelter and Republican Kristina Smith have expressed interest in mounting write-in campaigns.
Coleman, 19, has confirmed allegations he engaged in online bullying, harassment, stalking and revenge porn of girls five years ago while in middle school.
“I regret my past actions and hope to continually learn from them as I grow into the person I hope to be,” Coleman said on Twitter. “My dad is in the hospital and I never expected this kind of attention. It’s too much.”
Late in the primary, Coleman also came under fire for declaring he would find it amusing if Republicans who refused to wear a mask to avoid the spread of COVID-19 caught the virus and died. He apologized for that statement.
On Aug. 17, he said he was honored to be the Democratic nominee in the 37th District. He said his campaign was about offering voters “an option for change and a more progressive direction for our party.” He subsequently acknowledged state Democratic Party leaders had urged him to vacate the nomination.
Kansas House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said Frownfelter had served Wyandotte County with integrity.
“Mr. Coleman does not represent the values of House Democrats,” Sawyer said. “Mr. Coleman has continuously proven himself unfit to serve in the Kansas Legislature.”
