Former state Controller Betty Yee announced on Monday that she is suspending her campaign for California governor, with only six weeks until the June primary.
Yee cited internal polling by the Democratic Party as her decision to exit the race.
"What they were saying, which was concerning was this—experience and competence was not polling as high as we thought, when I first started this race," Yee said in an interview with CBS.
Yee, who had been polling in single-digits, was vying to be the first woman to hold the state’s highest office. But she lagged in fundraising and failed to break into the group of top-tier candidates in polling since she entered the contest in 2024.
During her campaign, she pitched herself as a candidate “who focuses on solutions rather than soundbites” but acknowledged that it didn’t resonate with voters.
“We’re in this new era, where you know, it’s almost, reality show mentality,” Yee said, adding that she’s not a “flashy person”with gimmicks.
Her decision comes after former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) ended his own campaign for governor following sexual misconduct allegations, upending a race that has seen no clear frontrunner.
Swalwell's exit dramatically upended the race since he was among the leading Democrats. Yee, however, had polled consistently at the bottom of the field.
The contest to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom as leader of the world's fourth largest economy remains crowded and unpredictable.
Six established Democrats and two leading Republicans remain on a ballot, along with more than 50 names.
But 23 percent remain undecided, according to the poll conducted April 16 after Swalwell's exit.
The primary election has been set for June 2.
Mail ballots are scheduled to go to voters in early May. Yee’s name will remain on the ballot because mail-in ballots have already been printed and her name cannot be removed.