Democrat Rich Leopold has dropped his bid for Iowa governor in 2018.
Leopold, an ecologist and former director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says he’s suspending his campaign.
He was the first Democrat to announce his intentions to seek his party’s nomination.
Leopold said in a Facebook post he faced challenges in fundraising, but he also criticized an electoral process that he described as being controlled by a small group of people.
More than a half dozen Democrats have announced their own bids or plans to explore a run.
