Will Jawando, a Maryland Democrat who was the first to jump into the race to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, is dropping out of the race.

Mr. Jawando, who is a Montgomery County Council member, said he no longer sees a path to victory for himself.

“After a lot of thought and prayer and late nights with my wife Michele, I’ve decided that it’s time to take a step back from the race,” he said on Friday. “Not because we believe any less in the cause that started it. The fights we talked about in this campaign are and always will be the fights of my life. But after thinking long and hard about this race in particular, I frankly no longer see a path for myself to victory.”

Mr. Cardin, a Democrat, announced in May that he would not seek reelection in 2024. With Mr. Jawando dropping out, that leaves two Democrats to battle it out: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone.

Ms. Alsobrooks has held the county executive position since 2018 and was the first woman to hold that office. Mr. Trone is serving his third term as a representative for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District which stretches from the Washington suburbs across Western Maryland.

In his statement, Mr. Jawando called attention to the problems within the Republican Party. 

“Now more than ever we need strong Democratic voices in the Senate,” he said.”MAGA Republicans keep trying to elevate hard-right election deniers to Speaker all while marching lockstep behind Donald Trump, a man who is running for president on a platform of revenge in a party that welcomes that with open arms. Now more than ever we need strong Democratic voices in the Senate. That’s why I got into this race.”

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.