Star of ‘The Bachelor’ not running for office after all

DENVER — Ben Higgins, the most recent star of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” announced Friday he had abandoned a campaign for public office in Colorado, just two days after filing the required paperwork to run.

Higgins planned to run as a Republican for a Denver state House district that is overwhelmingly Democratic. He filed paperwork to do so Wednesday.

In a statement from Disney-ABC Television Group, Higgins said that “due to unforeseen circumstances, I will not be able to move forward as a candidate.”

“Despite my best efforts to pursue this opportunity in good faith, I recently received information that has made such a pursuit unworkable,” Higgins said.

Campaign spokesman Roger Hudson said he could not elaborate.

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ABC-Disney and Colorado’s Republican Party didn’t immediately have comment on the announcement.

Higgins was to face Democratic Rep. Dan Pabon, who was recently sentenced to one year probation after pleading guilty to drunken driving in March.

Higgins appeared last year on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” This year, he was star of “The Bachelor” and lives in northwest Denver with his fiancee. The two have a new show airing this fall, “Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After.”

The Associated Press