'Clueless' actress Stacey Dash drops out of California congressional race

LOS ANGELES -- Actress Stacey Dash announced Friday that she is dropping out of the race for California's 44th congressional district.

"I started this run with the intention to address the pressing issues in the district where I live," Dash wrote in her withdrawal announcement on Twitter. "I hoped, and remain hopeful, that I can assist people living here on the national level. My goal was, and remains, to improve the lives of people who have been forgotten for decades by the Democratic Party."

Dash said she came to the decision after "much prayer, introspection and discussions with my family." She cited the "overall bitterness surrounding our political process," as well as the strain it would put on her family as her impetus for leaving the race.

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"I would never want to betray the personal and spiritual principles I believe in most: that my God and my family come first," Dash wrote on Twitter.

The outspoken Republican and former Fox News commentator filed paperwork in February to run in California's 44th district, which includes Compton, Watts, San Pedro and north Long Beach. The communities in the district, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragan, have a history of mostly Democratic representation.

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Dash emerged as a controversial figure in 2016 when she said the #OscarsSoWhite boycott campaign was "ludicrous" and said there was no need for Black History Month.

She worked as a commentator on Fox News for about three years, and once was suspended for using an expletive on air when saying she thought President Barack Obama didn't care about terrorism.

Dash is best known for her role on "Clueless" -- the 1995 film and subsequent TV series of the same name.