Mehring Ends Campaign for Congress, Will Return to CaringBridge

Just weeks after she announced that she would campaign against Rep. John Kline (R) in Minnesota's Second Congressional District, Eagan resident and CaringBridge founder Sona Mehring has abruptly ended her campaign.

As part of her campaign for Congress, Mehring initially made the decision to resign—a decision she appeared to regret in a news release issued Tuesday. Although her campaign had received "tremendous" support, Mehring said that her true passion lay with CaringBridge, a nonprofit she founded in 1997, and that her work there was not done.

Read Mehring's full statement below:

Dear Friends,

As I set out on my campaign for Congress, there was a yearning to serve my country and the people in my community in a new way. This meant stepping away from CaringBridge.

My campaign received tremendous support and words of encouragement. The level of enthusiasm and people’s confidence in me was humbling.   However, I realize my true passion still was with CaringBridge. That passion was fueled by the many people I met that told me about the impact of CaringBridge in their lives.

I came to the tough conclusion that my work with CaringBridge was not done and I needed to end my candidacy for Congress.

The culture in Washington still is something that needs to be changed. I will continue to find ways to work towards a better, more productive, more representative Congress. I hope to stay connected to the many new friends I’ve met.

Thank you for the support you showed me as I struck out on this quest – it filled my heart.

If you have contributed to me monetarily, I am returning your contribution. If you contributed your time and sweat, please know that I will be forever grateful.

With gratitude,
       Sona Mehring