Former Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress Victor O. Frazer said Thursday he has decided to abandon his run for the congressional post because he is disillusioned with the level of voter sophistication and political awareness in the territory.
Frazer said the public focuses on insignificant aspects of candidacies. "There seems to be a culture here where logic and issues are absent from political campaigns," Frazer said, adding that T- shirts and parties all take center stage when it comes to politics.
He recalled an incident when he last sought office when a resident refused to take his campaign literature but held her hand out for a T-shirt.
Frazer said all he has heard this year is that the current delegate, Donna Christian Christensen, is doing a favorable job in Congress. "When I ask what has she done, all I hear is that she has come to my daughter's graduation or my grandmother's funeral," he said.
The decision to withdraw from the race, he said, was not because he felt he could not meet the challenge of the campaign. "I have no problem making a sacrifice," he said. "but I don't wish to be the lamb."
He characterized Christensen as "not being a formidable opponent" from an intellectual standpoint.
"I don't think the delegate quite understands how Congress works, and that is evident," he said.
Frazer, who served a single term after being elected in 1994, was defeated in 1996 by Christensen.
Christensen is now running unopposed in November. Jorge J. Estemac, the Independent Citizens Movement candidate, has also announced he will no longer actively campaign.
Frazer notified the supervisor of elections on Aug. 29 that he wished to exit the race, but because Estemac and Frazer did not withdraw according to established procedures, their names will appear on the general election ballot.
