Salt Lake (ABC 4) - Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is no longer running for the U.S. Senate.
Shurtleff officially got out of the race Wednesday morning, citing concerns over his daughter's health.
Shurtleff had been challenging incumbent and fellow republican Bob Bennett.
But Wednesday, in a political shocker, the attorney general took his hat out of the ring.
And he did so for the sake of his ailing 17 year old daughter.
In May, Mark Shurtleff's family stood by him as he got into the senate race
Now, five and a half months later, he's standing by them as he gets out.
A tearful Shurtleff told ABC 4, "There have been questions about daddy were you there enough for me? You know, and so I will always wonder. I won't now."
Shurtleff and his daughter have long spoken out about her depression and suicide attempts.
But recently, she suffered a setback and checked into a treatment facility.
So, Shurtleff put family before politics and told his daughter he's no longer running for the senate.
Shurtleff: "We're not allowed to talk to her right now. So, I sent her a letter a week ago because I have been debating this...um...I wasn't going to do this (starts choking up)."
Shurtleff says his daughter responded by saying,
"She just said she loves me. She said I know you like to serve. Thank you for thinking of me."
Shurtleff feels like he's now letting down his senate supporters.
And maybe because of that, he won't rule out a political race in the future.
But for now, he's putting his house before the senate.
Shurtleff: "I doesn't mean you're a bad parent. It doesn't mean you’re a bad person if you have a depression.
It means you treat it."
Senator Bob Bennett now becomes even more of a favorite to win re-election.
But he's still being challenged by several other republicans and by democrat Sam Granato.
Also, with Shurtleff now out of the race, ABC 4 News is being told that Utah businessman Fred Lampropoulus is thinking about getting in.
