San Francisco mayor pulls out

October 31, 2009 12:31:02 PM

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ended his bid Friday to become California's governor, less than a month after former President Bill Clinton came to the state to endorse his candidacy.

Though he is extremely popular in San Francisco, in part because of his strong support for gay marriage, Newsom's statewide campaign was lagging and he was having trouble with fundraising, according to reports.

Newsom, 42, who last month became a father for the first time, said in a statement released by the mayor's office that he did not have the time to devote to a campaign for the governor's office.

"With a young family and responsibilities at City Hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to -- and should be -- done," Newsom said.

Newsom's withdrawal leaves state Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former governor, as the leading Democratic candidate in the 2010 race -- though Brown has not yet formally announced his candidacy.

Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, is the leading Republican candidate in the race to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is not eligible to run again because of California's term-limits law.