Mariah Lancaster dropped out of the Democratic primary for Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District on Saturday, Aug. 29, and endorsed Andover state Rep. Tram Nguyen two days before the Sept. 1 vote.

Lancaster, a veterinarian and former congressional staffer from Salem, said the goal was to consolidate progressive support behind Nguyen. Lancaster's name will remain on the ballot, and 416,380 voters statewide had already cast Democratic primary ballots as of Friday, Aug. 28, according to Secretary of State William F. Galvin's office, the Boston Globe reported.

"This is the election of a generation and, in the final days of this race, we must come together to ensure the Sixth District is represented by someone who will champion our progressive values," Lancaster said in a statement released by Nguyen's campaign, according to Andover News.

Lancaster's exit narrows the Democratic field to five candidates: Nguyen, Dan Koh, John Beccia, Jamie Belsito and Bethany Andres-Beck.

Both Nguyen and Koh are Andover residents.

The withdrawal caps a week of high-profile endorsements for Nguyen. U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan backed Nguyen on Monday, Aug. 24, becoming the first members of the state's congressional delegation to pick a side in the race, the Globe reported. Attorney General Andrea Campbell has also endorsed Nguyen.

Lancaster was scheduled to appear alongside Nguyen, Campbell, Trahan and Pressley at a rally and canvass kickoff Sunday, Aug. 30, in Salem, according to Nguyen's campaign.

The endorsements arrive as Nguyen faces a steep fundraising gap. Koh, a former Biden White House aide and former Boston City Hall chief of staff, spent about $1.8 million from early July through Aug. 12 and still had nearly $2 million on hand. Koh also loaned his campaign an additional $15,000 on Aug. 28, according to Federal Election Commission records. Nguyen spent $325,000 over the same period and had about $190,000 on hand entering the final three weeks before the primary.

An internal poll commissioned by Koh's campaign showed Nguyen in second place, trailing Koh by 15 percentage points. The same survey showed Lancaster polling in the single digits. No independent public polling has been conducted in the race.

Pro-Choice Majority Action, a political action committee that supports Democrats, reported spending $500,000 on digital ads backing Nguyen as of Aug. 28.

Nguyen has represented the 18th Essex District in the Massachusetts House since 2019, after defeating Republican incumbent Jim Lyons in 2018. Nguyen became the first Vietnamese American woman elected to public office in Massachusetts. The campaign says it has collected endorsements from more than 100 elected officials, organizations and labor unions.

The seat opened when Rep. Seth Moulton decided to run for the U.S. Senate. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Micah Jones, a U.S. Army veteran and lawyer from Essex, in the November general election.