Bruce Tyler talks with Richmond Metro Libertarians at the Robin Inn. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Former West End Councilman Bruce Tyler dropped out of the Richmond mayoral race on Tuesday afternoon, shrinking the field of candidates to seven.
Tyler, who announced his candidacy in the spring, was the lone Republican in the field. An August poll showed him in sixth place in the then-eight-person race with 4 percent of respondents citywide saying they'd vote for him. In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Tyler said he felt that withdrawing was in the best interest of the city.
"As I was traveling in circles and talking to people, I started to see some slippage with my folks and basically felt like there was not enough of the vote there to get into one of the two slots in the run-off election," Tyler said. "Basically, when I realized that, I felt it would be best if I withdraw my name from consideration so we can concentrate on getting someone elected that can run the city."
Tyler declined to say which remaining mayoral candidate he would support, but did say he was worried that his staying in the race would hurt former Venture Richmond executive Jack Berry.
"Obviously Jack [Berry] and I possess similar skill sets. We were cannibalizing each other's votes," Tyler said.
