RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced Tuesday that he is dropping his bid for Virginia governor in 2025 and will instead run for lieutenant governor.

“After careful consideration with my family, I believe that the best way to ensure that all Virginia families do get the change they deserve is for our party to come together, avoid a costly and damaging primary and, for me to run instead for Lieutenant Governor,” Stoney said in a statement.

When Stoney entered the gubernatorial race in December, it set up a Democratic nomination contest with U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer who has cultivated an identity as a bipartisan consensus builder over three terms in Congress.

After growing up in a working poor family, Stoney said he got into public service and the governor’s race to make sure families like his get a fair shot at success. As he spent the last few weeks with his wife and their new daughter, he said he thought about the future he wanted for his daughter and all Virginia families.