God apparently calls on Jungbauer to drop out of guv race

State Sen. Mike Jungbauer

When state Sen. Michael Jungbauer announced in August that he was running for governor, he stated that God was calling on him to seek the state’s top office. Apparently God had a change of heart.

The Republican from East Bethel announced today that he is dropping out of the governor’s contest. He cited fundraising struggles as part of the reason for the decision. Jungbauer will now seek re-election to his current legislative post.

“When I entered the governor’s race in July, I believed that God had opened the door to a new opportunity and that I needed to respond,” Jungbauer said in a statement announcing the decision. “I believe I did that to the best of my ability, but it was my human pride that made that job winning the race. As is so often the case, God’s plans aren’t our plans and I now realize that the job that needed doing was to learn a lot, listen even more, encourage and even teach a bit.”

Despite that divine directive, there was little indication that Jungbauer’s campaign was generating much momentum. A straw poll taken at last month’s state GOP convention showed little support for his candidacy. Perhaps his most notable contribution to the campaign: declaring that global warming is “pure, unadulterated BS.” There are seven remaining Republican candidates in the field.