CQ Politics | Emily Cadei

Democrat El Tinklenberg withdrew from Minnesota’s 6th District race Tuesday, an abrupt reversal after weeks of tough talk about how he was the best candidate to take on Republican incumbent Michele Bachmann among a crowded field of Democrats.

Tinklenberg, who lost to Bachmann by just 3 percentage points in 2008, issued a statement saying, “While the image of the next campaign against Michele Bachmann is certainly energizing, the path to that campaign is becoming increasingly improbable.”

State Democrats weren’t commenting Tuesday, but it’s likely Tinklenberg got the hint that he was not their first choice for the nomination this time around, given state Sen. Tarryl Clark’s entry into the race last week. Still, Tinklenberg gave no inkling that he was willing to step aside as buzz about Clark’s run built in July, declaring defiantly in the local press that he was prepared to run in a competitive primary and believed he was the “only one” who could beat the colorful and controversial Bachmann.