Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidate drops out of race. Four competitors still in running.

Chris Nelson, a conservative activist and DJ who was one of five people running for mayor of Fort Lauderdale, has officially withdrawn from the race.

Nelson's name is already on the ballot. Any votes cast for him in the Nov. 5 election will not count.

City Clerk David Soloman confirmed on Thursday that Nelson had officially dropped out of the race.

That leaves four candidates still in the race: Kenneth Cooper, Jim Lewis, Barbra Stern and Dean Trantalis, the incumbent.

Nelson told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Monday that he planned to drop out of the race and was endorsing Stern.

The winner will be among the highest paid elected officials in Broward County.

The mayor of Fort Lauderdale currently earns $106,200. On Dec. 1, the mayor's salary will increase to $106,920 thanks to an automatic annual pay raise that began in 2020.