Anna Ryon announced on Facebook this evening that she is suspending her Democratic campaign in Iowa’s third Congressional district.

I entered this race because I wanted to be a voice for people who are marginalized and whose lives are being detrimentally impacted by the hateful rhetoric and policies of the Republican regime in Washington. As an openly bisexual woman, I wanted not only to show Republicans that we will fight back, but I also wanted to show others who are marginalized and afraid that someone is willing to stand up and not let hate win.

I have indeed experienced some hate from conservatives during my campaign. Sadly, however, the most aggressive attacks on me have come from within the Democratic Party. I believe that there is much work to be done within the Democratic Party at this time, but I have come to the conclusion that I am not the right person to fight those battles. As someone who has to work full-time during my campaign in order to pay my mortgage and student loans, my time is more limited than other candidates. I have concluded that combatting attacks from within the Democratic Party is not a productive use of my limited time and that my time and energy will have a greater impact in another forum. Additionally, because I place high value on even the smallest financial contributions from supporters, I feel that fending off attacks from fellow Democrats is not a responsible use of those contributions.

I am seeking further comment from Ryon about the source of these attacks and will update this post as needed. I have not heard central Iowa Democrats criticizing her.

Ryon’s departure leaves three declared Democratic challengers to two-term Representative David Young: Heather Ryan, Paul Knupp, and Cindy Axne, who was a guest on Dave Price’s show “The Insiders” this past weekend.

Pete D’Alessandro and Theresa Greenfield are officially in the exploratory phase but are likely to launch their campaigns here later this summer.

The sixteen counties in IA-03 contain 164,132 active registered Democrats, 175,639 Republicans, and 165,523 no-party voters, according to the latest figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office. Roughly two-thirds of the Democrats and more than half of all registered voters in the district live in Polk County, containing Des Moines and most of its suburbs.