Former Lt. Gov. Maldonado Drops GOP Bid For California Governor
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado has abandoned his long-shot GOP bid for governor of California, as he floundered for support and campaign cash.
The former state senator and member of a successful farming family held a news conference Thursday in his hometown of Santa Maria to say he was dropping out of the race and would not run for any other office this year.
He exited the race by declaring, "now is not my time."
That leaves Republican state Assemblyman Tim Donnelly as the only major candidate to announce a challenge to Gov. Jerry Brown. The Democratic governor has not yet formally declared his intention to run for re-election even though he is raising millions of dollars for a campaign.
Former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari, a Republican, has been considering a run.