Brandon Patty withdraws from congressional race

Brandon Patty, in many respects, is cut from the same cloth as Ron DeSantis, the incumbent Republican in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.

A young, telegenic Republican with a strong sense of America taking an assertive role in the foreign policy sphere, it was and is easy to see Patty as a rising star in the Florida and national GOP.

With DeSantis out of the Senate race and running for re-election, Patty revealed to FloridaPolitics.com today he would not be running for the Republican nomination in CD 6 after all.

In terms of timing, having to announce this on Wednesday is bittersweet. Sen. Rubio was slated to headline a D.C. fundraiser for Patty this evening, which would have been a boost to his campaign in a crowded CD 6 field.

Now, however, Patty is suspending his campaign and endorsing DeSantis for re-election and Rubio for Senate.

And the festivities in Washington will be a “thank you” event.

Patty sounded disappointed, yet undaunted on the phone from Washington.

“I got into this race for the issues,” Patty said, which include national security, a desire to “take back Washington,” and to “reassert American leadership.”

There has been speculation he might look at a state House run; however, Patty tells us he’s “not pivoting … not running for any other seat” in 2016.

Despite the end of his campaign, Patty describes it as an “unbelievable experience,” about which he has “zero regrets.”