CLEVELAND, Ohio - Connie Pillich, the lone remaining Democratic woman running for governor in what was supposed to be the "year of the woman," will drop out of the race Wednesday to endorse Richard Cordray, according to two Democratic sources.

Cordray's campaign announced Tuesday in a press release that Pillich, a former state representative from the Cincinnati area, would appear with Cordray on Wednesday in Columbus. Her campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Pillich's exit continues the trend of candidates dropping out and consolidating support for Cordray, the former federal consumer watchdog who served in President Barack Obama's administration. Former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton left the race to become Cordray's running mate and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley also dropped out to support Cordray.

The shrinking field includes former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill and Rocky River physician Jon Heavey.

Pillich was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2008 and served in that body until 2014. She ran statewide in 2014, losing to Republican Treasurer Josh Mandel by more than 400,000 votes.

While she was able to raise a decent amount of money during the 2018 gubernatorial race, she was never able to parlay her past as a statewide candidate into wide support for her gubernatorial campaign.