Former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has suspended his campaign for Minnesota governor.

In a statement Monday, Coleman thanked supporters who have encouraged him over the past 15 months as he has crisscrossed the state trying to drum up support in a crowded DFL and GOP field.

“Hearing your stories, your hopes and fears was an inspiration,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s middle-of-the-road showing during precinct caucuses last week clearly played into his decision. The former mayor, who held his seat in St. Paul for 12 years, did about as well in St. Paul as he did outstate.

“The 2018 DFL field for governor is very strong,” Coleman said. “As the candidates continue to campaign, I encourage each of you to stay true to our shared progressive values: good jobs for working families, universal healthcare and a retirement that we can all depend on.”

“We have an opportunity in 2018 to establish a DFL majority in the state Legislature and elect a governor who will continue to advance the cause of progress for all Minnesotans.”

Democrat Tim Walz and Republican Jeff Johnson were the big winners in straw polls for governor at the Feb. 6 precinct caucuses.

In the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party balloting, Walz, the 1st District congressman from Mankato, led a crowded field with more than 30 percent of the votes.

State Auditor Rebecca Otto was in second place with 20 percent, followed by state Rep. Erin Murphy with more than 13 percent and Coleman at almost 12 percent. Of note: Murphy, a St. Paul resident herself, garnered the support of a number of St. Paul DFL activists, including more St. Paul City Council members than Coleman.

State Rep. Tina Liebling and former House Speaker Paul Thissen trailed behind in the single digits. Thissen later dropped out of the running.

Despite his disappointing caucus finish, Coleman was a strong fundraiser. He entered 2017 with the most cash of any of the gubernatorial candidates with $190,709 in the bank.

Last year, Coleman raised $602,248, second most in the DFL field, year-end campaign finance reports show. He spent $498,540 and had $294,417 in the bank going into 2018.

Walz raised more than $1.1 million, the most of all candidates in 2017. Thissen raised $301,000.

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It has typically been tough for Twin Cities mayors to make the political jump to governor. Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak won the straw poll in 2010, but did not win the DFL Party endorsement later on.

Former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer also attempted an unsuccessful run for governor — though he said this week that the comparison to Coleman wasn’t fair. Latimer ran without an endorsement against an incumbent Democratic governor.

That said, “there’s no question that people tend to think of a St. Paul mayor as being a St. Paul mayor. … I think it’s a factor,” Latimer said.

As for Coleman’s attempt, “He really was well-organized, and I thought he had a great platform,” Latimer said. “I thought he worked hard on it. … What he was trying to say, and I thought successfully, was that his work with communities all over Minnesota made him more than a St. Paul candidate.

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Walz warns Trump and Biden campaigns of COVID rules. Both candidates are coming Friday. “But he’s young and got a lot of energy and a lot of ideas. I think he’ll do fine.”

Added professor Larry Jacobs, political studies chair at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs: “I think Chris Coleman was a terrific mayor of St. Paul, but the reality is he didn’t have a policy that was truly distinctive enough in a crowded, talented DFL competition for the nomination and the endorsement. … There’s different levels of competition. There’s the competition that we all know about — the votes — and there’s a competition for delegates to the statewide party convention. And thirdly, there’s a competition for dollars. And in each of those competitions, Chris Coleman was lagging.”

Christopher Magan and Dave Orrick contributed to this report.