And then there was one Micah

Micah Lasher will now be the only candidate named Micah running for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler’s Manhattan congressional seat. 

The New York City Board of Elections knocked longshot candidate Micah Bergdale off the ballot following a petition challenge backed by Assembly Member Micah Lasher’s campaign, first reported by City & State. Lasher – a top contender for the seat and Nadler’s anointed successor – didn’t want any voters accidentally checking the box for the other Micah.

Bergdale didn’t have enough valid signatures, per a BOE ruling confirmed by a Manhattan judge. And while he actually lives outside the district in the South Bronx, he incorrectly listed his home address as a coworking space near Columbus Circle. Ruled off the ballot, Bergdale is suspending his run, he announced Friday.

“I put my heart and soul into this campaign, but it has become painfully clear that the Democratic machine does not want me on the ballot. In light of that, and the tens of thousands in legal costs required to keep fighting, I am suspending my campaign for New York's 12th Congressional District,” he wrote in a statement.

“How is an entrepreneur running an EV rental company in the South Bronx such a threat that Micah Lasher would direct firepower at me that would be far better spent fighting Donald Trump? … We were told in no uncertain terms that the SOLE reason they wanted me off the ballot was that I shared the same name of ‘Micah,’” Bergdale added.

A Lasher spokesperson pointed to an earlier statement from the campaign defending the petition challenge: “The voters are lucky to have a large field of candidates to pick from who met the basic requirements of the law."