Bennett primary challenger drops out

Sen. Bob Bennett’s (R-Utah) primary challenger dropped his campaign Wednesday due to a family health issue.

Mark Shurtleff said he will continue to serve as Utah attorney general while he deals with his daughter’s mental health problems. He said his daughter has been placed in a treatment center.

“Today, I am announcing the suspension of my campaign for the U.S. Senate,” Shurtleff wrote in an e-mail to reporters. “This announcement comes with sorrow because I do want to serve my country, and I do believe both political parties have put this nation in grave danger by spending so foolishly that our children and grandchildren will have a difficult time recovering."

He wrote of his daughter: “In the time since I announced my candidacy for the U.S. Senate, she has started experiencing severe mental health problems and is now in a treatment center. M’liss and I have been told by her doctors that we will be needed in numerous counseling sessions to give our daughter a chance of recovery.”

Shurtleff noted he had a motorcycle accident in recent years and would have lost a leg if he hadn’t taken the time to recover fully.