Charleston, W.Va. — Charleston attorney Nick Preservati has decided not to run for the U.S. Senate.
Sources tell MetroNews the Democrat came close to announcing he was getting into the race for the seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller, but decided against it for family reasons.
The sources say Preservati and his wife are adopting a child. The adoption has been fast tracked and, for family reasons, it was not the right time for a political campaign for him.
Preservati, 40, had met with pollsters, lined up a campaign staff and was within three days of announcing his entry into the race when family issues arose. Preservati was personally recruited by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Preservati had no public comment on the developments.
That means the Democratic Party is still searching for a candidate to take on Second District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito in 2014. Capito, a Republican, announced back in January that she is running for the seat.
State Democratic Party Chairman Larry Puccio says getting into the race is a personal decision for any of the potential candidates. “You have to be prepared and ready in your life to take this step and to go to Washington and do the job and do it right,” Puccio said.
Last week, another Democrat who had been considering getting in the race, Wheeling attorney Ralph Baxter, also announced he had decided against it.
Puccio said he’s still confident there is a Democrat out there who could be a strong challenger to Capito.
“I study the polls every day, every week, every month. There’s not a question that the Congresswoman can be beat,” he said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”