Democratic Rep. Ceci Velasquez dropped out of her re-election race in Legislative District 29 today following a grand jury indictment that became public Wednesday accusing her of ripping off the state’s food stamp program.

Velasquez has not resigned her seat, despite calls from House Democratic leadership to do so.

Velasquez stands accused of fraud, unlawful use of food stamps and theft by misrepresentation, all low-level felonies.

She will continue to receive a paycheck and benefits from the state through the end of the year, but the move to drop out of the race aims to assuage Democrats’ concerns that she will be an albatross around the neck of the caucus in the upcoming election. If she is convicted of a felony, state law requires that she resign from office.

House Democratic Leader Eric Meyer called on Velasquez to resign Thursday, and said he was speaking for the entire House Democratic leadership team when he said it would be “best for her and best for the caucus” if the freshman lawmaker gave up her seat at the Capitol.

But not all Democrats have turned their backs on Velasquez.

Her Senate counterpart in LD29, Democrat Martin Quezada, said it is too early to call on Velasquez to resign, given she hasn’t had a chance to explain her side of things yet.

“I think it’s premature. She was given an indictment, she was accused of some things, but we don’t know the background of that story. We don’t know how solid the evidence is. We don’t know if there’s any legitimacy to this at all,” he said.

ARS 16-343 states that in the event a candidate voluntarily withdraws from a race “after the close of petition filing but prior to a primary or general election” the district precinct committeemen “shall nominate a candidate of the party’s choice and shall file a nomination paper and affidavit.” Meyer said it is still unclear whether the district’s PCs will attempt to replace her.

Three other Democrats are running for the two House seats in the heavily Democratic district, which covers parts of west Phoenix and Glendale.

Velasquez, a paralegal who is pursuing a degree in criminal justice, took office in 2015 as she was wanted by police in connection with a trio of traffic tickets in 2010. A warrant was out for her arrest for failing to complete her payment plan for $2,000 in traffic fines. A friend later paid the fines for her.

Velasquez has not returned calls for comment, but has signaled on Twitter that she plans to fight the charges.

“I have done nothing wrong! This is a political witch hunt. I’m confident that justice WILL prevail once all the facts are known!” she wrote on June 22.

She will be arraigned July 5 in Maricopa County Superior Court.