Cohen, a millionaire pawnbroker and cleaning supplies company executive who emerged the victor in last week’s primary, had been accused of holding a knife to the neck of his ex-girlfriend, a prostitute, in 2005.
It has also been revealed in recent days that Cohen had once been accused of abusing an ex-wife. Cohen has also acknowledged using steroids for a period of time.
Cohen announced his decision to drop out of the race this evening at a Chicago bar.
"I'm someone who made mistakes in my life. And look where I am. If I let you down I'm sorry," Cohen told the crowd in attendance, NBC’s Chicago affiliate reports.
Cohen has faced mounting pressure to drop his bid amid concerns that he would prove damaging to other Democrats on the ballot in November, with Gov. Pat Quinn and state House Speaker Michael Madigan urging him to step aside.
Democrats have said the embarrassing revelations caught them by surprise, with top state officials first learning of the developments after reading about them in the newspaper last week.
With Cohen now out of the race, Madigan now faces the task of selecting a replacement to run for lieutenant governor in his place. (SOURCE POLITICO)
1 comment:
As much as I can be disgusted and judgmental of Cohen's past, Cohen alleges that everybody knew about his past and chose to not say anything because they felt he had no chance of winning.
Mr. Cohen claims he tried to get the media to talk his past months earlier so that he could assess whether he would be forgiven before continuing.
If indeed Cohen actually was trying to draw attention to his past months ago but was ignored because nobody thought he would win, then his persecution now is wrong.
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