Alaska Gov. Bill Walker announced Friday he was suspending his campaign for re-election, just weeks before the November midterm elections.

The Republican-turned-independent dropped his re-election bid three days after Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott abruptly resigned for “inappropriate comments” he made to a woman.

Walker was elected in 2014 after Mallott, a Democrat, dropped his gubernatorial bid to become Walker’s running mate.

He was running against Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy, who has been leading in the polls.

“In the time remaining, I believe we cannot win a three-way race,” Walker wrote on social media. “This week I have talked to many Alaskans to determine whether I or Mark Begich had a better chance of running a competitive race against Mike Dunleavy. The determination was made that, at this point, Begich has the better odds. Alaskans deserve a competitive race. Alaskans deserve a choice other than Mike Dunleavy.”

