Rocco Rossi pulls out of the mayoral race

Rocco Rossi has dropped out of the Toronto mayoral race. After a poll released earlier this afternoon revealed his support at just four per cent with decided voters, it's hardly a surprise that he's decided to pack it in.

He made the announcement tonight at his campaign office at 185 Avenue Road. "My message is not what the majority of Torontonians want to focus on...and I don't want to distract from Torontonians taking a very long look at the front-runners," he said shortly after 9 p.m.

Although Rossi had been defiant in the face of single-digit numbers over the last couple of months, the combination of this most recent poll and the recent loss of a number of supporters, including former campaign manager Sachin Aggarwal, appears to have been the icing on the cake.

What remains to be seen is which candidate Rossi's departure benefits the most. Insofar as he did not endorse another member of the race, both Rob Ford and George Smitherman will be after the small percentage of voters previously in Rossi's corner.

Photo fro Rocco Rossi's Flickr page.