His departure from the crowded GOP field comes five days after Republican state committee members at their annual meeting in Hershey voted to support Malvern entrepreneur Steve Welch, largely at Corbett's urging.
Of the party's six jilted Senate aspirants - many of whom vowed to continue their campaigns until the April 24 primary - Burns had appeared to be one of the best-positioned to challenge the governor's choice. He had won an earlier caucus vote of state GOP committee members, and though the governor suggested that Burns opt instead for a congressional run, his campaign had rejected the idea.
Burns' unofficial fund-raising totals were also on par with Welch's. In filings released Tuesday, the only candidate in the GOP Senate primary to outperform Burns and Welch was Armstrong County coal company executive Tom Smith, whose $4.5 million war chest bested incumbent Casey's $4.3 million. Smith loaned his campaign $5 million this year.
Though neither Burns' nor Welch's most recent finance reports were available Thursday, their campaign aides put their unofficial totals at about $1 million.
The others still in the Republican contest are Bucks County veterans' advocate David Christian, Bedford County pharmacist John Kensinger, former state Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County, and Dauphin County lawyer Marc Scaringi.
For his part, Welch saluted Burns for quitting the race: "I believe Tim's selfless decision will help unify our party for the critically important battle that lies ahead."
Contact staff writer Jeremy Roebuck at 267-564-5218, jroebuck@phillynews.com, or @jeremyrroebuck on Twitter.
