One of the top Democratic picks for Kansas governor has decided to take a pass.

Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates, who reportedly was the choice of current Gov. Mark Parkinson, turned down a bid this week. GOP Sen. Sam Brownback is stepping down from the Senate to run for governor in 2010, and Gates’ decision further clears the path for him to win the seat next November.

“The demands of our businesses in this economic crisis will not permit me to become a candidate,” Gates said in a published letter about his decision.

“We owe it to our investors, our loyal employees, our customers and our family to give our fullest attention to weathering this severe business downturn. I would owe it to you and all Kansans to run an aggressive, full-time campaign on the issues. The reality is, I cannot do both.”

Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh has ended his bid in the state's 2010 contest for governor, giving retiring Sen. Sam Brownback a clear path to the GOP nomination.

The development also solidifies Brownback's status as the front-runner in the race for the seat -- currently held by interim Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson -- as he will be spared a primary contest with a well-known and longtime statewide officeholder. Thornburgh has been secretary of state since he was first elected in 1994.

Nonetheless, Thornburgh would have needed a major come-from-behind push to overcome Brownback, who first won his Senate seat in a 1996 special election, won landslide re-election victories in 1998 and 2004, and ran a short-lived campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. A recent poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed Brownback trouncing Thornburgh by a margin of 47 percentage points.