GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) A Democratic candidate fending off sexual harassment allegations has abandoned his campaign for a seat in the General Assembly.

Hearst Connecticut Media reports that Marc Abrams said Friday he quit for the good of his family. He insisted the allegations he harassed and discriminated against two female employees while a partner at a New York hedge fund are false.

Abrams was challenging seven-term Republican incumbent Livvy Floren.

House Speaker Brendan Sharkey urged Abrams to step aside and said he did the right thing.

The 44-year-old Abrams is a defendant in a 2010 lawsuit filed in New York by two women alleging that he and his brother, Russell, had a history of sexual advances and abusive and threatening behavior.

Democrats have not won a state House seat in Greenwich since 1912.