photo by: Peter Hancock

In this file photo from December 2015, Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, speaks to a legislative committee at the Statehouse in Topeka.

TOPEKA ? Kansas House Minority Leader Jim Ward dropped out of the governor’s race Wednesday, acknowledging that he wasn’t able to raise enough money in the crowded race for the Democratic nomination.

Ward suspended his campaign after nearly nine months and filed the paperwork necessary to run for re-election to his House district in Wichita. He would have had to give up his seat in the Legislature to keep running for governor.

His departure leaves three major Democratic candidates for the state’s Aug. 7 primary election: state Sen. Laura Kelly of Topeka; former state Agriculture Secretary Joshua Svaty of Ellsworth, and former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer.

Ward’s campaign began in August 2017 with some promise. Long active in Democratic politics, he was an aggressive critic of then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s policies, and being a legislative leader made him even more visible. He also appealed to some party liberals wary of Svaty because of anti-abortion votes Svaty cast as a Kansas House member.

But Kelly, the top Democrat on the state Senate budget committee, received an early endorsement from former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius upon entering the race in December. Svaty has the backing of former two-term Democratic Gov. John Carlin.

“Obviously, when Laura Kelly entered the race with Kathleen Sebelius’ support, that did not bode well for the eventual Ward campaign,” said Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat.

Patrick Miller, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, said he had been expecting Ward’s departure after campaigns reported their 2017 fundraising totals. Svaty raised more than $192,000 and Kelly received almost $156,000 in cash contributions in just a few weeks. Ward received about $91,000, while Brewer took in about $45,000.

“I just couldn’t put the resources, the money, together to deliver my message,” Ward said.

Svaty said Ward ran a “very skilled race,” and Kelly called the Wichita Democrat “a voice for working families.” Brewer said Ward “helped invigorate Kansas” and showed tenacity.

Svaty said Ward’s decision “brings more clarity to the race,” and could help his campaign in Wichita. Brewer also has a base in the state’s largest city.

But Carmichael said: “This opens the path to victory for Laura Kelly.”

The governor’s race was crowded even before the term-limited Brownback resigned in January to take an ambassador’s post, elevating Republican Jeff Colyer from lieutenant governor to governor. More than three dozen candidates have filed campaign committees or appointed treasurers ahead of the June 1 candidate filing deadline.

Colyer is in a tough GOP primary race against Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer and former state Sen. Jim Barnett of Topeka.

But Patrick Kucera, an Overland Park pastor and businessman who describes himself as an “entrepreneurial evangelist” and promotes a “revival of revenue” for individuals and the state, told reporters Tuesday at the Statehouse that he planned to put $500,000 in a campaign for the GOP nomination, half of it his own money. He appointed a campaign treasurer last year.