Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, the only major Democrat in the 2010 governor's race, has announced that she is dropping out for "very personal reasons."

Lawton, in a brief letter to supporters on her Web site, said that her "deep commitment to our state is second only to my commitment to my family. For very personal reasons, I will not pursue the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010."

Following Gov. Jim Doyle's decision not to run for a third term, several Democrats, including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, have considered running. But U.S. Rep. Ron Kind decided against a run, and Barrett is still deciding whether to enter the race. Lawton's decision leaves the Democratic primary wide open and is likely to spur other candidates to consider a run, especially if Barrett decides against it.

Barrett has been under tremendous pressure to run, but given the amount of coverage he has consistently received regarding a possible run, it seems that there is a lack of urgency to the situation. His statewide name identification only seems increase as speculation over his candidacy continues. Lawton's decision throws the spotlight right back on him.

Lawton faced difficult challenges, with one poll showing that after seven years as lieutenant governor only about half of those polled said they even knew who she was. While she was attracting endorsements even as recently as late last week, her fundraising was weak, and she did not have the backing of Doyle even after serving nearly two terms together.

Last week Doyle told reporters that Lawton has "worked very hard on the arts and a number of other projects," but otherwise he had little positive to say about her.