Richardson is officially out. His full announcement, sent moments ago by email, is below the jump.

Highlights include the fact that Richardson says the campaign discovered some of the irregularities and reported them to the commission staff themselves and that the disqualified contributions left them 80 short.

Richardson says he never considered switching to private financing (not that he would have had time) and that "this decision, while very painful, does not, and will not alter my faith in Clean Elections and my conviction about how important it is to our state."

Dear ,

Five and a half months ago, when I announced my candidacy for governor, I explained what I would do – how my experience and jobs plan would improve Maine’s economy. That message brought a broad and diverse group together and I am humbled by all the support that I received.

I had the great fortune of working with hundreds of dedicated volunteers on this campaign. Many of them had never participated in the political process before. Our volunteers came from every part of Maine and all walks of life. They were small business owners, working families, first responders, and seniors – and they all believed that our plan to create jobs would give our children and grandchildren the same opportunities that we have had.

I ran as a Clean Elections candidate when I served in the House of Representatives. I believe in what the Clean Elections system represents – that Maine people should have the power to decide who their leaders will be – not special interests or those with personal wealth. That is why I decided to run for governor as a Clean Elections candidate.

We collected the $40,000 in seed money from Maine voters and turned in more than 3,500 $5 contributions. That should have been sufficient for us to qualify for public financing.

Late last week the Ethics Commission’s staff sent me their decision on our application. The seed money contributions were found to be in order; however, they determined that we did not submit the sufficient number of $5 qualifying contributions.

This is, obviously, a tremendous disappointment. Even more troubling is that the commission staff identified instances where three circulators did not follow the proper process for collecting contributions. Because of those violations, the commission rejected all of the $5 qualifying contributions collected by these three circulators that could not be verified independently.

Every one of our circulators was given specific instructions from me or campaign staff as to how to collect contributions. And everyone was told – and expected – to follow the letter of the law at all times. When we discovered irregularities associated with two of the three circulators that the commission staff identified, we reported that information immediately to the Ethics Commission staff.

Evidently, these circulators cut corners on the forms they submitted. Although I did not know that these short-cuts were being used when the forms were submitted, I am accountable and I accept the responsibility for those mistakes as the candidate.

I have given a great deal of thought over the past several days as to how we should proceed. We are 80 contributions short. We could appeal the staff decision, go back and get signed affidavits and restore some of the contributions that are in doubt. Even though I believe we would exceed the minimum requirement, I do not believe that is the right thing to do.

The primary is just six weeks from tomorrow. An appeal to the Ethics Commission and the time involved to further investigate the questionable forms – even if we were to prevail - wouldn’t leave any time for us to address the real issues in this race. And that would not be a good use of public funds.

Another option would be to run a traditional campaign, but I never really gave that idea too much thought. I have always believed in the Clean Elections process and this decision, while very painful, does not, and will not alter my faith in Clean Elections and my conviction about how important it is to our state.

For those reasons, I have decided, that for the good of the people of Maine and for the good of the democratic party, I am withdrawing from the race for governor.

This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a quitter. I am deeply disappointed by the commission’s decision, but I respect the process and I appreciate the fairness that our campaign has been shown by the staff.

I want to thank the other four democratic candidates for governor. I have enjoyed my time on the campaign trail with them. They are all great leaders in their own right and, regardless of the outcome in June, we will have an excellent standard bearer to help our party keep the Blaine house this November.

I want to thank everyone who made a seed contribution or $5 contribution to the campaign, all my friends, supporters, my campaign manager, and staff. You all put so much of your time and energy into this campaign. I am so humbled by your dedication and I will never forget that. I want to thank all of the organizations that gave me with their endorsement. And I especially want to thank my children, my parents and my wife, Stephanie, who has been, and continues to be, my best advisor and my best friend.

It’s often said that if you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost. I know that’s not going to make any of us feel any better today, least of all me. I know all of you are disappointed, as I am, about this outcome. But I do know that my decision today is the right thing for our party and the right thing for the people of Maine. That was always my motivation for entering the governor’s race and it will continue to be my motivation for public service.

Thanks again for your support!

John Richardson