Gerlach primary opponent drops out

Businessman Steven Welch has ended his primary challenge to Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), about a month after he said he would stay in the race.

Gerlach dropped his candidacy for governor last month and moved back to running for reelection, and Welch soon announced he would stay in the race.

But the task for Welch was tall and on Saturday morning he ended his campaign.

“For me to fight hard right now would do more harm than good,” Welch said, according to pa2010.com. “For that reason, I am withdrawing.

“We have a chance to send Jim Gerlach back to Congress to lead the way forward.”

It is the second time Welch has abandoned his campaign in the face of a big-name challenger. The self-funder also stepped aside in the neighboring 7th district when former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan got in on the GOP side.