A long-shot candidate for the B.C. New Democratic Party leadership has dropped out and thrown his support behind leadership hopeful John Horgan.
Nicholas Simons said Thursday he is joining Horgan, who many speculate is currently running third but has the potential to make gains on vote day on April 17.
Simons is a two-term New Democrat from the Sunshine Coast and has served as the Opposition's critic for children and family development.
He ruffled the feathers of NDP brass during the campaign when he refused to provide his social media password as part of his official nomination package, saying it violated privacy.
Simon's refusal prompted B.C.'s privacy watchdog Elizabeth Denham to launch a formal investigation to determine whether the provincial NDP is breaking the law by demanding potential leadership candidates hand over the passwords to their social media accounts.
Horgan said Simons has spoken passionately about the issue of poverty reduction throughout the leadership race.
"His participation ensured that this issue remained front and centre throughout the debates," said Horgan in a statement. "I will carry his vision for poverty reduction forward if I am elected on April 17."
Simons was one of the 13 caucus dissidents who forced former NDP leader Carole James to quit last December.
He joined on the sidelines Merritt-area MLA Harry Lali, who dropped out of the leadership race earlier leaving frontrunners Mike Farnworth, Adrian Dix, Horgan and pot activist Dana Larsen still in the running.
