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| Version 14 | Version 15 |
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| NY governor withdraws from race | NY governor withdraws from race |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| New York Governor David Paterson has withdrawn from the race for state governor amid a scandal involving one of his aides. | New York Governor David Paterson has withdrawn from the race for state governor amid a scandal involving one of his aides. |
| He had announced his campaign formally only last weekend but had faced pressure to quit. | He had announced his campaign formally only last weekend but had faced pressure to quit. |
| He said he had never abused his office, but was "being realistic about politics". | He said he had never abused his office, but was "being realistic about politics". |
| There had been criticism over how he handled allegations about an aide and domestic abuse. | There had been criticism over how he handled allegations about an aide and domestic abuse. |
| Explaining his decision, Mr Paterson said: "It hasn't been the latest distraction.... It's been an accumulation of obstacles that have obfuscated me from bringing my message to the public." | |
| Mr Paterson was seeking a full four-year term, having become governor in 2008 when former Gov Eliot Spitzer quit amid a prostitution scandal. | |
| He was sworn in to serve the remainder of Mr Spitzer's term. | |
| He said on Friday he would not quit his post, but continue "fighting for the state of New York". | |
| When he was sworn in in March 2008, Mr Paterson made history as New York's first African-American governor and as the first legally blind person to hold such a post permanently. |