Former Congressman Tom Campbell to Drop California Gubernatorial Bid

Mr. Campbell, a Republican, plans to make the announcement at news conferences in Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, the people familiar with the situation said. Frances Nelson, a political donor from Woodside, Calif., said Mr. Campbell called her Wednesday afternoon to inform her of his decision to run against Mrs. Boxer.

"I'm tickled pink,'' said Ms. Nelson, a developer who has donated $20,000 to Mr. Campbell's gubernatorial campaign since August. "He's just the kind of man this country needs in the Senate.''

People close to Mr. Campbell said the candidate thought he would have a better chance of winning the Senate race than the gubernatorial race to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who must leave office this fall because of term limits.

Mr. Campbell, who has struggled in fund raising, would have faced two multimillionaires in former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in the Republican gubernatorial primary. If he had won, he would then likely have faced Democratic heavyweight Jerry Brown, a former California governor, in the general election.