Liberal leadership hopeful Carolyn Bennett is dropping out of the race and throwing her support behind Bob Rae.

Bennett, a Toronto MP and former cabinet minister, announced her decision Friday in Vancouver at a news conference with Rae.

"His values, priorities and vision best correspond to those I laid out in my campaign,'' Bennett said in a news release. Among those values, she said, is an independent foreign policy and a "progressive vision of the country.''

She said Rae is ready to lead the country and fight the "retrograde policies of the Harper government in the next election.''

Bennett, a former Ontario physician, was never considered to be among the top tier of candidates.

Leadership candidate Stephane Dion told CTV Newsnet that "it was fun to campaign with Carolyn. I think she gave a good contribution to the race. And now, she decided to go to Bob. It's a very legitimate choice."

But Dion could not resist teasing Bennett about siding with the former NDP Ontario premier, who led the province through a recession.

"She said that she came into politics to fix the trouble (Rae) created in the health care system in Ontario. So I guess she decided that the best way to keep an eye on him was to join his race," he joked.

Bennett is the second contender to withdraw from the race.

Maurizio Bevilacqua, another former cabinet minister, dropped out during the summer. He too threw his support behind Rae.

Bennett was one of three women who entered the contest. Veteran Vancouver MP Hedy Frey and the unelected Toronto lawyer and businesswoman Martha Hall Findlay were the others.

"(Bennett) had never managed to muster much support," CTV's Roger Smith told Newsnet.

"She's obviously decided that she can't fare very well, and she's dropping out now ... perhaps sparing herself some embarrassment when the first ballot results are announced."

Smith said the announcement is good news for Rae because both she and Bevilacqua are from Ontario, a province where Rae has had trouble gaining support because of his record as premier.

However, Smith noted throwing support behind another candidate doesn't necessarily guarantee votes from supporters. He said when Bevilacqua withdrew, some of his top advisors said they would back Michael Ignatieff's bid.

Liberal candidates will participate in their next debate on Sunday in Vancouver.

Their so-called "super weekend" takes place in two weeks. This is where every riding association across Canada will choose delegates to attend the December 2-3 weekend convention in the former Liberal bastion of Montreal.

Bennett's exit leaves nine contenders in the race to succeed former prime minister Paul Martin.

Among political experts, the four strongest contenders are Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Stephane Dion and Gerard Kennedy (not in that order).

Ignatieff is a rookie MP but is well known among academics for his writings and scholarship on human rights issues. Often compared to Pierre Trudeau, he has been criticized for spending most of his life abroad, either in Britain or the U.S.

Rae is a Rhodes scholar who has developed a reputation as a statesman, having handled high-profile assignments such as the federal government's review into the Air India bombing. But many Ontarians still have bitter tastes in their mouths from Rae's premiership during recession years in the early 1990s.

Dion, a Quebec MP who was a minister under Martin and Jean Chrétien, played a major role in the province promoting national unity and fighting off the Bloc. However, his grasp of English isn't perfect, and he may struggle to win support across the country.

Kennedy, the former Ontario education minister, has received plaudits from educators and parents for bringing labour peace to Ontario schools after years of strikes, lockouts and work-to-rule campaigns. But, his French has been described as rudimentary and building a national profile could be a challenge because his only cabinet job has been in Ontario.