One of the two Democratic candidates for Boyle County judge-executive has withdrawn from the race.

David Alan Reeves filed his notice of candidate withdrawal with the Boyle County Clerk’s Office on Tuesday, according to paperwork from the clerk’s office.

Reeves provided a statement to The Advocate-Messenger on his withdrawal Friday afternoon:

“We greatly appreciate all the support and encouragement that has been shown to myself and my family during this primary race. We attended a Democratic meet and greet at the RECC building a couple weeks ago for all party candidates. It became crystal clear to me that I was not the ‘chosen’ candidate by the party,” Reeves said. “The partisanship displayed there did not align with my values and after deep consideration, my family and I decided not to be a part of this election. Best of luck to all the candidates, and let’s continue to keep our eyes on the development and growth of our beautiful city and county.”

Reeves was facing fellow Democrat Gary Chidester in the May primary election. Chidester is now unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Boyle County Democratic Party Chair Richard Campbell said he spoke with Reeves about a week before he withdrew.

“I encouraged him to stay in the race because it’s always good to have competition and it … makes our democracy even stronger … by having viable candidates and giving voters a choice,” Campbell said. “I was sorry to see him pull out. I hope he will endorse and support Gary Chidester.”

Reeves declined to comment Friday on whether he would be endorsing Chidester.

Chidester said Friday he is “sorry this turned out the way this did.”

“He is an incredible guy. I am so sorry he chose to withdraw his name for this, because it was going to be a wonderful opportunity for the people of our community to hear the wisdom that he’s got,” Chidester said. “… David Reeves would be a great guy to help change this community.”

Chidester said he’s hopeful that Reeves will “come and be a part of our campaign.”

“I just want our party to be united in this and not divided in this,” he said. “Because I think this is an opportunity for people to come together.”

Reeves withdrew after the primary ballots were already created, meaning his name will still appear when voters hit the polls May 22, according to the clerk’s office. Votes for Reeves won’t count.

Reeves’ withdrawal paperwork states he “will not accept the nomination or election and request the county clerk to withdraw my name as a candidate.”

Boyle County Clerk Trille Bottom served as the notary public for the withdrawal paperwork.

As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Chidester will face the winner of the Republican primary in November. The Republican candidates are Lynn Harmon and Howard Hunt III.