Northeast News

Updated April 12, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – 19th District State Representative candidate Clifford McMurray officially withdrew from the race on Wednesday, April 6, less than two months after being diagnosed with a chronic illness.

McMurray, 38, was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of the body’s joints.

“It started a little bit in my fingers and my toes,” said McMurray. “It’s good that I’m a stay-at-home dad right now. I’m unsure how I would be able to function if I had a 9-5 job.”

The 19th District candidate said that the symptoms prevented him from campaigning with the vigor that he wanted.

“The inflammation of joints was to the point where I could not walk the district,” he said.

In the press release announcing the decision to suspend his campaign, McMurray said he was hopeful that the eventual winner of the 19th District seat will work to expand Medicaid in Missouri. McMurray added that his recent experiences have opened his eyes to the need for health care reform.

“When I received the initial diagnosis from my primary care physician, they sent out a referral and I asked to go to a specific medical institution,” he said. “They gave me the first available new patient appointment, and that was five months out.”

McMurray has been a vocal community advocate in the Historic Northeast since moving to the 19th District in 2006. He serves on the board of the Scarritt Renaissance Homes Association, and is a strong supporter of early childhood education. He didn’t rule out the possibly of running for political office again in the future, but stated that it would have to be for the right reasons.

“I think that will depend on the landscape at the time. To me that’s about how I’m going to bring about the changes I want to see,” he said. “For me, that’s primarily about bringing educational opportunities.”