Oregon's tiny Independent Party lost its gubernatorial candidate Tuesday morning, just a week before ballots are due.

"I'm going to step down from my campaign. I'm going to endorse Gov. Brown," Patrick Starnes said on Portland ABC affiliate KATU, with Democratic Gov. Kate Brown seated beside him. He said the governor shares his enthusiasm for campaign finance reform, which was his main issue during the race.

Independent Party co-chairman Rob Harris, who had already endorsed Buehler over his own party's candidate, said Starnes had not notified him in advance about his plans to drop out. Still, Harris defended Starnes' decision and said it wasn't a complete surprise.

"The question isn't whether or not he's going to win the election," Harris said. "It's how much he can swing the race."

Polls show Brown has a narrow lead over Knute Buehler, a Republican legislator from Bend. The Independent Party has 120,000 members, and even a relatively small number of votes could be important in deciding the election.

Still, it's uncertain Starnes can deliver even that modest boost. Roughly 600,000 ballots have already been turned in ahead of next Tuesday's deadline -- more than a fifth of all voters -- and the Independent Party hasn't gained much traction with Oregonians since the state classified it a "major" party three years ago.

Just 23,000 Oregonians voted in the party's May primary, compared with the nearly 400,000 who cast ballots in the Democratic primary. Starnes captured 6,000 votes, just 26 percent of his party's primary vote but more than any other candidate for the party's nomination.

Late Tuesday, the Independent Party's official Twitter account sent out a message denouncing Starnes' decision and stating that the party does not endorse Brown.

"To the people who may have already voted for him, we apologize," the tweet said. "We disagree with how he handled his decision."

A cabinetmaker and home restorer, Starnes, 56, spent a decade on the board of the tiny McKenzie School District east of Eugene before beginning his abortive campaign for governor.

The party's goal wasn't to win the election this time out, Harris said, but to raise a key issue and win support for that issue – campaign finance reform in this case – from the major candidates.

"We try to be strategic," Harris said. "This race between Buehler and Brown is probably going to be decided by a few percentage points."

Writing on Twitter later Tuesday, Harris expressed doubt that Brown would follow through on the commitment she made to Starnes to support campaign finance reform.

"Problem is...she's been Governor and the leader of her party for almost 4 years and hasn't done CFR," Harris wrote. "Either she's as ineffective as Buehler says, or she doesn't really want to give up the political capital to do CFR."

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