Former state representative and former Minnesota GOP chairman Keith Downey today dropped out of the race for governor, saying “the opportunity for me to win in November has closed.” Downey placed a distant third in the Republican straw poll at February’s precinct caucuses. The G-O-P front runner at that time, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, now faces a serious challenge from former Governor Tim Pawlenty, who jumped into the race late — but with a sizeable war chest rivaling that of Democratic front-runner, First District Congressman Tim Walz.