An automatic statewide vote recount to finalize the second position in the Lt. Governor’s race was cancelled this evening when unofficial second place finisher Pat McKinney dropped out of the race.

McKinney, who finished in second place in unofficial vote tallies after Tuesday’s primary, led third place finisher Mike Campbell by 1,250 votes triggering an automatic recount because the margin separating the two was within a 1% margin of the total vote.

According to campaign manager Taylor Hall, McKinney decided to drop out of the race for personal reasons having lost his father and father-in-law within the last two months.