Republican State Rep. Richard Nelson has ended his bid for governor and in turn has announced his support for Jeff Landry.

“My heart will always be committed to Louisiana, and that is why I am happy to support Attorney General Landry to be our next governor,” Nelson said in ending his campaign. “I believe that Jeff has the commitment and the courage to bring the fundamental reforms we need in state government. Our people need good jobs, good schools, and good health, and Jeff is the best candidate for the job.”

The Mandeville native and former U.S. State Department officer ran on the platform of eliminating the state income tax, but consistently lagged in polls.

“Louisiana has so many advantages, but instead of using our strengths to propel a diverse and thriving economy, we rely on them to prop up inefficient government policies,” Nelson told the American Press editorial board in March, saying he would work on getting rid of the income tax and rebuilding the state’s entire tax structure to be more like Texas, Florida and Tennessee — states without it.

“Fundamentally you’ve got to broaden the base of the property tax and then simplify the sales tax structure, get rid of some of these other ones like the inventory tax, which aren’t competitive and are just a waste of time and money,” he said at the time.

Nelson said getting rid of the income tax will keep tax dollars in local communities, allowing local communities to invest in their roads, police, and schools. He also told the board he planned to swap some of the local sales taxes for higher property taxes.

By running for governor, Nelson opted out of running for another term in the Legislature.

His campaign said in a statement released on social media that Nelson would pursue opportunities in the private sector, including putting his name in the hat for becoming the next president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, a business lobbying group formerly led by Stephen Waguespack, who is also in the race for governor as a Republican.

“I ran for governor to improve the lives of the people of Louisiana, and we have been fortunate to travel to every corner of the state spreading the gospel of good government,” Nelson said. “While this was always going to be a difficult race, I am proud of the impact we made with the resources we had.”

Nelson, 37, was the youngest of the seven major candidates in the race. The other major candidates in the race include Republican state Sen. Sharon Hewitt; Independent attorney Hunter Lundy; Republican Treasurer John Schroder; and Democrat Shawn Wilson, former Louisiana transportation secretary.