Congressman Joe Walsh's (R-8) sole Republican opponent in the 8th congressional district race has dropped out of the running.

"Today, after careful consideration with family, supporters and friends, I have decided not to run for Congress in the 8th Congressional District,” explains a statement by Darlene Ruscitti. She went on to say that her campaign collected 4,000 petition signatures and had gotten the backing of "dozens of elected officials." Nonetheless, Ruscitti says she decided against a run due to her "role as a leader within the Illinois Republican Party and a desire to avoid a costly primary outweigh my personal political aspirations."

Democratic candidate for the 8th congressional district Tammy Duckworth release this statement in response to the news:

The choice for voters in the 8th Congressional District couldn’t be more clear. Just this week, Joe Walsh voted to increase taxes on 6.5 million middle-income families in Illinois starting January 1st. And then he voted to take a holiday vacation. He’s clearly not the kind of leader the 8th Congressional District needs.

Now is not the time to raise taxes on working families. Too many are concerned about how to pay their mortgages and credit card bills. And if I were in Congress, I wouldn’t have left without doing everything I could to pass the payroll tax cut extension.

Shortly after Ruscitti announced her decision to bow out of the race against Walsh, the Illinois Republican Party announced that she was named co-chair of their Victory Program, which is aimed at getting its candidates into office.