Rep. Kohls out of race for governor

There's one fewer name in the crowded race to replace Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty next year.

Rep. Paul Kohls, R-Victoria, dropped out of the race Thursday, telling supporters: "It has become clear to me that the activists are lining up in much greater numbers behind some of the other candidates in the race."

Kohls placed sixth in a Republican straw poll at the party's statewide convention in St. Paul earlier this month, behind "no vote."

His withdrawal leaves more than two dozen candidates still vying for the open seat in 2010.