Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a longtime legislator from Brooklyn, has dropped his candidacy to become the new leader of the state Assembly, reducing the field to three.
Lentol, saying Thursday he doesn't have enough support, is backing Assemblyman Carl Heastie of the Bronx, now the clear front-runner.
Assemblyman Keith Wright of Manhattan withdrew Wednesday.
The other two remaining candidates are Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Rochester and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan of Queens.
They hope to replace Speaker Sheldon Silver, now facing federal charges he took kickbacks for a decade.
All are Democrats. Party members collectively have a two-thirds majority in the chamber.
The Democratic conference agreed earlier this week to replace Silver as speaker, with Morelle as acting speaker until they elect a replacement on Feb. 10.
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