Citing a late start in a political system requiring more money than he had time to raise, former U.S. Rep. Ken Holland on Tuesday dropped out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary field.

"Money," Holland said when asked about his decision.

Holland, 71, who last held office nearly 25 years ago, struck his tent 21 days after his Valentine's Day announcement in the Gaffney courtroom where his prosperous law practice often takes him.

"I'd have to raise $11,000 a day just to be competitive, and that's for the primary. After that, it gets serious," he said, blaming the "outrageous" cost of political campaigns.

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Unless someone else enters, the Democratic field is back to its original duo, state Sen. Tommy Moore of Clearwater and Florence Mayor Frank Willis. Moore and Willis are around the $1 million mark in fund raising, and Republican Gov. Mark Sanford has banked $4.5 million.

The primary will be June 13.

Holland entered the race at a time when Moore and Willis had been campaigning for nearly a year, locking up supporters and donors, said John Simpkins, a Charleston School of Law professor and former Furman University political science instructor.

"That a former U.S. congressman couldn't overcome a late start should be a cautionary tale to any other potential latecomers," Simpkins said, referring to the state Democratic Party's still partially filled statewide slate of candidates.

Holland said he underestimated the time-consuming nature of fund-raising for a campaign for governor after declaring it to be a minor concern when he announced.

"There's nothing like getting in the pond, swimming around a little bit and getting a realistic look, and a realistic look to me was not encouraging," he said.

Katon Dawson, state Republican Party chairman, said Holland's move was a reflection on a state Democratic Party that "doesn't have a lot of money to help its candidates."

Holland's decision caught family members off guard.

"It shocked the hell out of me when he called at 2 o'clock yesterday," said Holland's brother Jim, news editor of The Chronicle newspapers.

But Ken Holland said, "It would have taken a perfect alignment of the stars for me to win this election, and that would be rare."

Holland said he wasn't sure how much money he had raised, but he plans to return it to donors. He said he decided against funding his own campaign, quipping that "if the Governor's Mansion is on the auction block, I don't intend to bid."

Holland said he hasn't decided which of the remaining candidates he will support.

"They've been running around for about a year and haven't really created many waves, which is one of the reasons I even gave it a thought," he said, echoing criticism he made of them when he announced.

Holland's pullout came a day after the campaign's first verbal brawl between the Moore and Willis campaigns. Joe Werner, a Willis aide, accused Moore's campaign manager, Tim Shock, of taking the campaign into the gutter with a personal attack at a Myrtle Beach party event.

Shock said all he was doing was citing donations by Willis and his wife, Marguerite, to Republican candidates.

Simpkins said that while the exchange elevated their campaign's profile, "A nasty primary fight is the last thing either candidate needs. It's going to make it difficult for the loser of the primary to say with any credibility that he's going to back whomever comes out on top."

Moore and Willis, he said, "don't seem to be making any distinction between their ultimate opponent in November and the primary battle."