COLUMBIA, S.C. - Former U.S. Rep. Ken Holland, who entered the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination less than a month ago, said Tuesday he has decided to withdraw from the campaign because of his late start.

Holland, 71, compared his brief bid to a person who spends a lot of time looking at a pond, but not knowing the pond well until getting into it. In this case, Holland found he'd have to pump $11,000 a day in fundraising to make a credible bid against two Democratic opponents in the June 13 primary.

"That don't leave you a lot of time for campaigning," he said.

When Holland entered the race on Valentine's Day to challenge state Clearwater Sen. Tommy Moore and Florence Mayor Frank Willis, he downplayed money concerns and the problems created by entering the race months behind his opponents and four months before the primary.

After all, he said, he'd made a fortune as a lawyer in wrongful death and drug litigation and he was counting on building a network of supporters quickly. He also wasn't worried about the $5 million he'd need to challenge Gov. Mark Sanford, in the November election. Most observers expect Sanford to defeat Oscar Lovelace, a Prosperity physician, in the GOP primary.

Holland, who served in Congress from 1974 to 1983, said he found plenty of support while talking with voters and visiting Democratic gatherings. But the money-raising daunted him. "I know where the money is and how to raise it," he said.

He could have financed his bid out of his personal wealth, but "I declined to do so."

"The lateness of my entry has presented more of a problem than I thought," Holland said

Holland said he made his decision Sunday, lived with it a day and decided to make it public Tuesday.

Even for a short candidacy, Holland expects Moore and Willis will seek his support, but he says he hasn't spent enough time looking at what they offer to decide who to endorse.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin and Lachlan McIntosh, the party's executive director, did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday morning.

Even Republicans had been looking forward to Holland's participation in the race.

"I wanted him to stay in," state GOP Chairman Katon Dawson said. "At least he was entertaining."

Holland had come out swinging against his Moore and Willis, saying they'd been running for months and "have zero recognition."

Now it's Holland who gets the recognition of having one of the state's shortest-lived gubernatorial bids and becomes a new source of entertainment for Republicans claiming political dominance.

"I find it entertaining that the former congressman got in the race and then out of the race," Dawson said. While Holland may have his reasons, the affair "speaks volumes to the big picture of Democrats versus Republicans" and "where we're going as a state," Dawson said.