District Attorney race loses one candidate *

Prosecutor Mario Trujillo will drop his campaign for Los Angeles County DA due to recent health news, the LA Weekly's Gene Maddaus reported Thursday. A colonoscopy turned up a medical condition that he needs to deal with, Trujillo confirmed. Though he's not very well known outside the DA's office, Maddaus writes that Trujillo was a serious contender in the open race to succeed Steve Cooley.

Though he had no prior political experience, he did surprisingly well in fundraising, bringing in $429,000 last year, the second-highest total in the race.

Trujillo also had the advantage of being the only Latino in the race, in a county that is half Latino. Recently, he hired veteran political consultant Ace Smith, further bolstering his campaign's credibility.

Smith ran Antonio Villaraigosa's campaigns for mayor, among others.

* Update: Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who has Cooley's endorsement, formally got took out her papers to run.