Diradour steps out of race against Cantor

One month after announcing his bid to unseat Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, Richmond businessman Charlie Diradour is bowing out.

He cited dedication to his family and to Richmond in a statement released yesterday announcing his withdrawal. Diradour, who doesn’t live in the 7th Congressional District, was seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Cantor in 2010.

“During the past months I have had to be away from my family at hours that they deserved my attention,“ he said. “Secondly, I am a Richmonder. I love our city and want to see it become a premier center for culture, education and sports in the Southeast.“

He said he’ll continue to work on quality-of-life issues in Richmond.

Ray Allen Jr., a senior strategist with Cantor for Congress, said: “We commend his commitment to public service and look forward to working with him in the future on issues of mutual interest.“

Diradour launched his campaign in mid-September with a Web video that said Cantor — the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives — was using
Twitter during President Barack Obama’s health-care speech to a joint session of Congress. His video showed several postings during that general time frame.

Diradour later backed away from the claim, saying his campaign made “an honest mistake” on the timing of Cantor’s messages.

“I made a sincere start to this campaign: energetic and-well reasoned,“ Diradour said in his statement. “While I am an idealist, I am also pragmatic enough to realize that this is simply not the right time for my candidacy.“

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Olympia Meola is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.