Raheem Kassam, a former aide to Nigel Farage, has dropped out of the race to become the next leader of UKIP.
In a statement, Mr Kassam said he had come to realise "the path to victory is too narrow" and urged his backers to support former London mayoral candidate Peter Whittle.
He revealed he could not raise enough money for his leadership bid to be any more than a digital campaign based in Westminster, and also complained of "disgraceful treatment by the media".
Mr Kassam said not appearing at campaign events around the country would have made him a hypocrite, "given how much I criticise the establishment for ignoring the country".
As well as directing his ire at the media, Mr Kassam accused the UKIP hierarchy of treating the leadership election "like a coronation".
He said he had complained to UKIP chariman Paul Oakden about MEPs using party databases to "effectively campaign against me", insisting it was "ostensibly against the rules".
Mr Kassam's announcement comes three days after he launched his campaign in a Westminster pub and with nominations for the party leadership set to close at noon.
He had the backing of party donor Arron Banks, and Sky's Beth Rigby said a party source told her Mr Banks had changed his mind about who to support, instead opting for Mr Whittle.
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