2 days after James O'Keefe posts a video, Mike Ellis drops out of his reelection race.

"I don't fit in anymore.... There isn't room for independent thinking and compromise...There's no room on the street anymore for people to walk down the middle of the road,"
says the Wisconsin state senate president, who's served in the legislature for more than 4 decades.

He made the decision to get out of the race Wednesday night, after the recording was released...

"My wife doesn't deserve this," he said. "Nobody's wife deserves this. I grew up like Tommy Thompson in the '80s and '90s," he said, referring to his political ascent with the longtime Republican governor. "Our entire political makeup does not recognize that approach to politics. We didn't grow up in it."...

O'Keefe has declined to say why he focused on Ellis, who is little known outside Wisconsin. Observers have seen the recordings as an attempt to push Ellis out of the race.

Here's yesterday's discussion of the O'Keefe video. I asked: "Why did the conservative video-activist James O'Keefe go after Wisconsin Senate President Mike Ellis (a Republican)?"

Why did the conservative video-activist James O'Keefe go after Wisconsin Senate President Mike Ellis (a Republican)?

Here's the Project Veritas video that went up yesterday:



Here's The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's report:

In an interview Wednesday, O'Keefe declined to say why his group has focused on Ellis, saying it has called out politicians from around the country for their hypocrisy....

Some conservatives have called for a primary challenge to Ellis, who has been at odds with other Republican leaders on issues such as expanding voucher schools....

The unedited video shows Ellis responding favorably to remarks critical of Republican Gov. Scott Walker. The individual secretly recording the interview for Project Veritas accuses Walker of focusing all of his efforts on a possible presidential bid.

"Amen," Ellis responded, later applauding comments about Walker not caring about Wisconsin. Ellis added, "I think Walker's working for Walker."

Ellis has been a Wisconsin state senator since 1982, he's up for reelection this November, and there is a challenger from the Democratic Party. 

UPDATE: One day later, Mike Ellis drops out.