It’s the end of the road for Gabe Escobedo and his short-lived bid for the California State Assembly.
Escobedo, through his political consultant, Wade Cowper, announced that he was “suspending” his campaign.
The press release announcement comes one day after Mike Stoker announced that he was running for the seat, joining Gregg Hart as the two primary candidates.
“I got into this race to win, and there is simply not a path to victory,” Escobedo said in a statement. “I’m proud of the campaign I have run, and I want to thank all of my supporters. … I look forward to holding our elected leaders accountable and serving our community in any way I can.”
From the beginning, a path to victory for Escobedo seemed treacherous. He was the first to anounce his candidacy, but insiders knew that Hart was preparing a run and would be the favorite among Democratic voters, unions, elected officials and fundraising.
With Stoker in the race, Escobedo’s slim chances sunk even further.
Escobedo is the chair of the Santa Barbara Planning Commission and the city’s Community Formation Commission. He also sought the appointment to the Santa Barbara City Council after Hart was elected in 2019 to the county Board of Supervisors, but didn’t get much support for the seat. The council eventually appointed Meagan Harmon.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.