Chris Huhne, Simon Hughes, and Sir Menzies Campbell
Photographer: John Stillwell/PA
And then there were three. On the same day that Ming Campbell launched his campaign, Mark Oaten abandoned his, writes Jody Dunn.
It is a shame that Mark's withdrawal from the race came about as a result of a misguided decision to leak emails from his office. Whatever the intention behind it, that decision has done Mark Oaten no favours at all.
That said, those following the campaign could see that while Mark is well respected within the party, he was not the people's choice for leader.
Most still consider this to be a two-horse race, but don't be too quick to write off Chris Huhne's chances.
While there is no doubt that both Ming and Simon enjoy very considerable support within the party, it is equally clear to me that support for Chris is growing daily.
Chris may have started off by being less well known than his rivals, but this is not always a bad thing.
He has the advantage of starting his campaign with a clean sheet, without having to combat historical concerns that members might have about his rivals.
I asked Chris how long he had been planning to run.
"I finally decided on Thursday morning of last week (eight days ago). That's the truth. Two weeks ago I was still on the ski-slopes with my family.
"I came back on the Sunday evening and hadn't even thought about standing. And then I was approached by a group of MPs who felt that the competition absolutely had to be opened up.
"They said that the party needed a wider choice. I made it a condition of my standing that all seven parliamentary nominations had to be real ones.
"What I mean by that is that I didn't want them simply to put their names on a piece of paper. I wanted the people who nominated me to be active in the campaign. To really support me. They all have done."
That list of supporters is impressive and increasing (check bloggers4chris.org.uk) and Chris considers himself to be the only candidate with a realistic chance of unifying the party. One young party member told me why Chris would get his vote.
"As a 21-year-old, if I was just starting to get interested in politics I would have to ask myself whether any of the party leaders represented, or at least appeared to represent, my way of thinking.
"In that situation, would I now be tempted by David Cameron? Of course I would. I know I'm not the only person who thinks like this, so it poses an enormous challenge to our party.
"We need a leader who can unite the party and give us renewed vigour and direction to challenge the false liberalism of David Cameron.
"Many of us in the main Lib Dem student branches believe that Chris Huhne is the only leadership candidate truly capable of doing this."
One of the candidates may have withdrawn from the race today, but don't be fooled; there are three others who are still very much in it.
* Jody Dunn was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hartlepool at last year's general election. Read her blogposts from yesterday,Tuesday and Monday.
