One day after state Rep. Cory Gardner topped the field in a straw poll, Republican rival Diggs Brown dropped out of the race Wednesday and threw his support to Gardner.

Brown, a former Fort Collins councilman, trailed Gardner in a straw poll taken at precinct caucuses in the two largest counties that make up the 4th district.

Gardner, the preferred candidate of the National Republican Congressional Committee, still faces two opponents for the nomination in the district now represented by Rep. Betsy Markey (D).