Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner has ended her DFL gubernatorial bid.

Gaertner made the announcement at a Capitol news conference Monday, about two days after House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher won the DFL party endorsement.

Gaertner had said she would skip the endorsing convention and run in the primary.

Gaertner's decision means the DFL primary race is now between Kelliher, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton and former state Rep. Matt Entenza.

"Susan contributed a lot to this race," Kelliher during a tour of the state.

Asked if the absence of another woman in the primary makes things easier, Kelliher said, "Anyone who is not in the race makes it a little bit easier," regardless of gender.

Here is Gaertner's letter to supporters:

Dear Friends & Supporters:

After careful analysis of the DFL gubernatorial endorsement, I have decided to end my campaign for Governor of Minnesota.
Two important facts weighed heavily in my decision: 1) That the endorsement of Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher would pit two women against each other in the primary, and 2) with two self-financed and well-funded male candidates, the resulting struggle would make it extremely difficult to raise sufficient funds for an effective campaign.
Since the day I entered this campaign I always believed there was a path to victory. Today, that path is not clear. What is clear is that if I stayed in the race I could hurt the chances of a woman surviving the primary. Because this is the first time in more than a century of effort that a woman has come this far, I don't want to be any part of keeping us from achieving this important milestone for Minnesota women.
While I am truly sorry the campaign didn't work out, I have no regrets. I ran because I believe at this difficult time in Minnesota's history my leadership and values would have been good for all Minnesotans, including the least among us.
I will be forever grateful for your support and friendship. In my years as a public servant in Minnesota, nothing I have done has touched me more than your loyalty to my campaign for Governor.
When I started this campaign, I used a quote from Minnesota's first Governor, Henry Hastings Sibley, to express my most basic value as a candidate. As I end this campaign, I still believe it to be true:
"I have no object and no interest which are not inseparably bound up with the welfare of the state."
Thank you.

Susan Gaertner