The Colorado Republican Party's chairman is accusing ABC of using "thuggish tactics" to force the most recent star of the "The Bachelor" to abandon his campaign for a state House seat in Denver.
The Denver Post reports Ben Higgins announced Friday he was withdrawing from the race due to "unforeseen circumstances." He planned to run as a Republican for a Denver district that is overwhelmingly Democratic.
Colorado GOP Chairman Steve House says ABC and its owner, Disney, threatened Higgins's future with the network if he didn't quit the race.
Higgins, who has a new show airing this fall on the ABC-owned Freeform, had been set to face Democratic Rep. Dan Pabon.
Freeform denied the accusations and said it only shared concerns with Higgins that broadcasting a show featuring the campaign could possibly violate Colorado election laws.
