Nederland Mayor Kristopher Larsen has ended his bid for U.S. Rep. Jared Polis’ seat, saying that there was no longer a path to victory.

“Clearly this is not how I dreamt my campaign would end,” the Democrat said in a Facebook post, “but it is made easier knowing that I will continue to fight for what I believe as mayor of Nederland.”

Larsen said he decided just before last week’s precinct caucuses to call it quits but left open the idea of running for higher office sometime in the future.

Larsen was among several Democrats who were seeking to replace Polis — who is vying to become Colorado’s next governor — in 2018.

Larsen’s departure from the race, along with Boulder gun-control advocate Ken Toltz’s decision to end his campaign, have all but cleared the path for Joe Neguse on the Democratic side.

Neguse, a former University of Colorado regent and former executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, is leading the pack of candidates running for Polis’ seat in fundraising and big-name endorsements.

The only other Democrat still running against Neguse is Mark Williams, the former chairman of the Boulder County Democratic Party.

Republican Peter Yu and Independent Nick Thomas have also filed to run in the left-leaning district, which is made up of all of Boulder and Larimer counties and spans into Broomfield, Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Park and Summit counties.