State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz left the Massachusetts governor's race on Thursday, though she said she would keep her name on the ballot for the Democratic primary.
Chang-Díaz qualified for the ballot at the state Democratic convention but had consistently been trailing in the polls behind Attorney General Maura Healey. Massachusetts' primary elections are set for Tuesday, Sept. 6.
While she said she was leaving the race, Chang-Díaz insisted at an event in Jamaica Plain she wasn't dropping out but "continuing the fight." She endorsed a slate of "courage Democrats."
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Healey remains the favorite to replace Charlie Baker, who is not running for reelection, in the governor's office. She's likely to face Republican Geoff Diehl, who's received former President Donald Trump's endorsement, in the general election.
A member of the Democrats' progressive wing, Chang-Díaz entered the governor's race exactly one year ago. She told NBC10 Boston that she was "tired of waiting for government to greet the challenges that working families in Massachusetts face with the same determination and the same urgency and the same orientation toward action that families are, in fact, living those problems."
Two other Democrats have also dropped out of the primary, former state Sen. Ben Downing and Harvard professor Danielle Allen.
A state senator of more than a decade, Chang-Díaz got about 29% of the delegate vote at the Democratic convention, nearly twice the amount she needed to get her name onto the primary ballot, but far behind Healey's 71%.
The State House News Service contributed to this report.
