Article content continued

In July, before Kelley Moore declared her intention to run for mayor, Dayday was polling at 15 per cent, behind Atchison and Charlie Clark.

“I thought, ‘Well that’s not bad because I’ll improve upon that,’ but then when you’re at five (per cent) you’re pretty low because people who are supporting you now are saying, ‘Well, you know, is it worth giving our vote for him now or should we vote for someone else?’ ” Dayday said.

He said he will not publicly endorse any candidate, but will endorse one privately.

University of Saskatchewan political science professor Joe Garcea said “it’s not surprising” that Dayday pulled out of the race, given his showing in the poll.

He said he doesn’t expect Dayday’s withdrawal to significantly harm or hurt any particular candidate because Dayday was not expected to split the vote with any one candidate.

Garcea also noted that Dayday’s decision not to publicly endorse another candidate may be a wise one. For one, his seemingly few supporters may not have listened to his advice. For another, an endorsement by Dayday could put off some supporters of another candidate.

Dayday’s departure leaves the mayoral race down to three candidates: Atchison, Moore and Clark. Last week’s Mainstreet poll had Atchison’s support at 29 per cent, Clark at 24 per cent and Moore at 18 per cent. Twenty-two per cent of respondents said they didn’t know who they would vote for on Oct. 26.

Wednesday is the last day for candidates to submit nomination papers for mayor and council. People can withdraw nomination papers until the end of the day on Thursday.

ahill@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/MsAndreaHill