Assemblyman Drops His Bid for Governor

ALBANY, N.Y. — Facing a more well-funded opponent from the other side of the state Capitol, Assemblyman Brian M. Kolb’s short-lived candidacy to become New York’s next governor is over.

Kolb, a Republican from the Rochester area who leads the Assembly minority, announced Friday that he was dropping out of the race, saying in a statement that he realized that the campaign would require spending “every week for at least the next nine months on the road, away from my loving family.”

“That moment helped put what is truly important in life back into perspective,” he said.

When Kolb, 65, declared his long-shot bid in December, he acknowledged the challenges in taking on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat who has improved his approval ratings in recent months and has a campaign war chest of more than $30 million. But, he said, he believed in the promise of American opportunity. “And here’s an opportunity to serve our state,” he said.

But while Kolb managed to slowly build a collection of endorsements — including a nod from Nicole Malliotakis, a fellow Republican member of the Assembly who lost to Mayor Bill de Blasio in November — his campaign was overshadowed by recent days by John A. DeFrancisco, a state senator who declared his candidacy in late January.

DeFrancisco was able to bring about $1.5 million in campaign funds to the race, far more than Kolb had in his campaign accounts. Joel Giambra, the former Erie County executive, is also seeking the nomination.

On Friday, Kolb had no comment on DeFrancisco’s candidacy, but said he would continue to do what he could to help defeat Cuomo and put “an end to the corruption in the Cuomo administration.”