Don Carlson suspends 1st Congressional District campaign, endorses Cano

PROIVDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Don Carlson announced Sunday that he will be suspending his campaign for the 1st Congressional District seat.

Carlson released a statement Sunday, saying that the race “has brought extraordinary stress on my family and close friends” and that “there does not appear to be a viable path to victory on Sept. 5.”

“That very high personal cost is more than I’m willing to pay for the honor of public service,” he said. “I will continue to work hard to combat climate change, improve education, defend reproductive freedom, and fight for gun safety. But I will do so strictly as a private citizen.”

Carlson has been under scrutiny in the past days, releasing a pre-recorded statement on YouTube Friday addressing allegations of sexual misconduct during his time as an instructor at Williams College.

In that statement, he said that the issue came from a misunderstanding during an “awkward conversation” in 2019 with a graduating senior, who Carlson said he never directly instructed or mentored but had “a lot in common” with.

He said the conversation was about a dating website the student brought up.

“I somehow misinterpreted the description as a suggestion of a different relationship after graduation,” Carlson said. “I was wrong about that. He gently corrected me and I apologized profusely. He accepted my apology and said nothing had changed about our friendship and that meant a lot to me.”

He emphasized that he “never had any romantic relationship” with a student at any institution he was affiliated with.

In his statement announcing the end of his campaign, Carlson also said that he would be supporting state Sen. Sandra Cano’s campaign “in any way [he] can.”

“At a debate earlier this month, I said I would support Sandra if I wasn’t running myself, and I intend to hold true to my word,” he said.

Cano’s campaign released a statement shortly after the announcement which thanked Carlson for his “kind words.”

“Voters deserve someone in Congress they can trust and Sandra’s actions have demonstrated that she is that candidate,” the campaign said. “We hope to earn the support of Mr. Carlson’s supporters, and all residents in the 1st Congressional District.”

Carlson was also the only candidate to file a formal complaint against Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’ campaign over allegedly fraudulent signatures.