Former state Controller Betty Yee dropped her campaign for California governor today, thinning the field of Democrats seeking the office.
Yee told CBS News her decision was prompted by recent polling conducted by her campaign.
“What they were saying, which was concerning, was that experience and competence was not polling as high as we thought when I first started this race,” Yee told CBS.
She denied that the move was in response to pressure from the Democratic Party to reduce the number of candidates in a field that has been led in most polls by a pair of Republicans — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News personality Steve Hilton.
Yee’s departure follows the recent exit of Democratic front-runner Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose campaign imploded following the surfacing of sexual assault allegations.
Their exit from the race leaves six leading Democrats still vying for the governor’s office — former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Assemblyman and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and businessman/activist Tom Steyer.