Republican state Sen. Don White appears headed for a free pass for re-election, following the decision by his would-be Democratic challenger to withdraw from the race.

Lawrence "David" Brestensky Jr., of South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, the lone Democrat to file for the seat, admitted a change of heart led him to bow out of the April 27 primary in the Senate's 41st District.

"I didn't really want to do this to begin with," Brestensky said Friday. "I have three small kids (ages 4, 8 and 10) and the time needed for this campaign would have kept me from them. I think my kids need a father."

Brestensky, 37, who is serving his first term as a township supervisor, said he plans to withdraw his name as a candidate.

The district includes parts of Butler, Armstrong, Clearfield and Westmoreland counties, and all of Indiana County.

In Butler County, the district comprises Clearfield, Concord, Donegal, Fairview, Jefferson, Oakland, Parker, Summit, Venango, Washington and Winfield townships and Bruin, Cherry Valley, Chicora, East Butler, Eau Claire, Fairview, Karns City, Petrolia and Saxonburg boroughs.

Brestensky's early exit from the race leaves White as the only candidate on the primary ballot. Barring a long-shot write-in or third-party candidacy, White, 52, of Indiana is guaranteed re-election to a second, four-year term in November.

Brestensky had filed nominating petitions for the seat in February.

Candidates who have filed petitions for the state Senate and House and Representatives have until March 3 to formally withdraw from the primary.

Brestensky's withdrawal now makes moot a recent challenge of his petitions filed in Commonwealth Court.

A Harrisburg law firm challenged the petitions on technical grounds, claiming individuals who circulated the petitions weren't present when the papers were notarized, as required under state law.

"The challenge doesn't really matter now," said Brestensky, an electronic instrument repairman at Allegheny Ludlum in Brackenridge, Allegheny County.

He said he was a reluctant candidate from the start.

"The Democratic Party in Harrisburg asked me to run but I kept telling them, 'No,'" he said. "I was concerned that the schedule would be too tough.

But Brestensky vowed to run full throttle as a candidate for the state Senate or House sometime "down the road."