Dear Friends:

I want you to be the first to know that I have decided to end my candidacy for Congress. This has not been an easy decision, but I am convinced it is the right one.

Working closely with Congressman Christopher Shays and Governor Jodi Rell, I learned a lot about what makes Fairfield County unique. I saw principled, independent leaders in action, every day, doing what was best for the people they represented.

I entered the race for Congress seven months ago because I strongly believed that Fairfield County desperately needed that independent leadership in Congress that we all admired so much in Christopher Shays and Stewart McKinney before him.

The issues facing our region and our nation are of the utmost seriousness. To meet and overcome these challenges, I believe we need leadership in Congress guided by conservative fiscal principles, a belief in the importance of individual liberty, and common sense.

We cannot afford to re-elect a Congressman who blindly follows his party bosses while he ignores the people he was elected to serve. Seven months later, I still believe all this to be true.

Having talked with many of the delegates to the Fourth District Republican convention, it is my belief that I would garner more than enough votes to qualify to challenge the party-endorsed candidate in a primary.

However, I do not believe that forcing a primary is in the best interests of our party. It is time I step aside and work with the strongest candidate who has the best opportunity to beat Jim Himes. Right now, that is the best thing I can do to ensure the Fourth District gets the strong and principled leadership in Congress we so desperately need and deserve.

We owe it to our neighbors and our country to support the best candidate for the Republican nomination. We need to support a fiscal conservative who understands the Federal government cannot solve all of our problems. We need a strong candidate who understands how the Democrats' health care bill will harm our country, and will do what needs to be done to fix it. I believe this candidate is my good friend, Dan Debicella.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Dan and serving with him in the State Senate. I know Dan possesses the command of the issues and the politics that will make him a successful Congressman. We have a long fight ahead of us and we need to help Dan Debicella bring the fight to Jim Himes right now.

When I served Christopher Shays in Congress, I fell in love with Christopher's belief that public service was about more than just partisan politics and personal gain. I knew then that politics is a passion that I will retain for the rest of my life. My time in politics has provided me with some of my best and toughest moments. As a Republican from Bridgeport, it's fair to say that I've always held principle above victory, even if it meant losing more elections than I'd care to admit. I've loved every minute of it and I have no intention of giving up the fight.

I would like to thank all of my friends who have stood beside me in this campaign. Your support means the world to me and I will never forget it. Those of you that endorsed me or volunteered for me, please know how much your support means to me.

The guidance of my brother Christopher and my dear friend Paul Pimentel have been invaluable. Thank you for your advice, your support and for keeping me on course.

I would especially like to thank my wife Carolyn, who agreed to this campaign less than a month and a half after we were married. I know I have had no bigger supporter than her, and look forward to spending a lifetime paying her back.

Thank you all for supporting me on what has been an amazing adventure.