Pedro Sotelo drops out of 8th District congressional race

• Pedro Sotelo
• Sotelo is out of the race.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will not be replaced by a Kansas Citian. Pedro Sotelo, a Kansas City businessman and veteran who declared last month for the 8th District, has withdrawn his candidacy.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Political Fix reports that Sotelo told Eddy Justice, the 8th District Congressional Republican Committee chairman, that he was ending his campaign for “personal reasons beyond his control.”

Sotelo, 41, was the only Kansas City candidate in the field of (now) 13 candidates to replace Emerson. There is no residency requirement for the special election to fill the seat that covers southern Missouri. The Pitch has reached out to Sotelo and will update this post if his campaign releases more information.