Amador County - As the November election day draws closer, two candidates for major political seats in our region have dropped out. SMUD Director Bill Slaton made it official in late December that he will no longer be running for the 3rd District Congressional seat currently held by Republican incumbent Dan Lungren. Lungren won the 3rd District by a narrow margin in 2008. Slaton said he will put his full support behind Dr. Ami Bera, a UC Davis physician, the only official Democratic candidate for the seat and the likely Democratic nominee. Slaton said, “Ami has demonstrated the kind of leadership we need in Congress to create good-paying green jobs here in our community.” On December 15, Bera also received the endorsement of Bill Durston, Lungren’s Democratic opponent in 2008. According to a report from the Center for Responsive Politics, Bera has so far raised $625,278 in campaign funding- $44,000 more than Lungren. Some reports say this does not include over $200,000 raised for Slaton’s campaign that may also be a contribution. On Tuesday, Republican Paul Hegyi announced that he is dropping his candidacy for Democratic Assemblymember Alyson Huber’s seat in the 10th Assembly District. Hegyi’s departure essentially clears the way for a rematch between Huber and former San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock. Huber won her seat by less than 500 votes in 2008, and it is considered one of the most targeted legislative races of this election. Hegyi said his “single most important goal…is to ensure that Republicans take back the 10th Assembly District, and to prevent the Democrats from gaining a 2/3 majority in the State Assembly.” “I want to thank the hundreds of supporters who have helped me thus far. This was a hard decision, and not one that I took lightly, but at the end of the day everyone's first priority should be to help the GOP leadership win this seat,” he said. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.