The 10 Democrats each hoping to be the one to face and beat Republican incumbent Congresswoman Elise Stefanik in November are now down to eight.

Two Washington County hopefuls, Sara Idleman of Greenwich and Tanya Boone of Granville, have announced they are pulling out of contention for the District 21 Democratic nomination.

Their withdrawals come on the heels of the announcement earlier this week by former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan that he entered the contest for the nomination as the Democrats' candidate, bringing the field to 10 hopefuls.

Ratigan, who grew up in Saranac Lake, returned there Monday for his announcement.

The remaining contenders are Tedra Cobb of Canton, Patrick Nelson of Stillwater, Donald Boyajian of Cambridge, Ronald Kim of Queensbury, Emily Martz of Saranac Lake, Katie Wilson of Keene, David Mastrianni of Saratoga Springs, and now Ratigan.

Idleman, the Town of Greenwich supervisor, entered the race early in January when she filed campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.

In her announcement pulling out of the campaign, Idleman was not kind to Ratigan, and asked for Democrats to support Tedra Cobb to oppose Stefanik.

“As everyone knows, there were big events this week in the race for the nomination for congressional district NY-21,” Idleman said. “The entry of our new candidate is a sea change in how we are talking about selecting our nominee to run against Elise Stefanik.

“Our new candidate comes with media experience, name recognition and money. He also comes with what I’m sure even he won’t deny is a history of bluster and volume.

“He may deny this one but watch the videos, he comes with an attitude toward women. We’ve seen this movie before. In this time of rising women’s power, we don’t need to see the re-run.

“Our new candidate takes pride in never having cast a vote in his life,” Idleman said.

She said that Ratigan had missed the chance in over 50 elections in his adult life to vote for candidates he might have supported.

“He jokes about that and says it’s because he’s disgusted with the candidates and the lack of choices has disenfranchised him.

“It’s simply not credible that in all those elections for hundreds of offices there were never any candidates worthy of his work and support. Those of us who work tirelessly on our committees to elect good Democrats to office at all levels are deeply offended by that.”

Boone announced her candidacy in October. She was born and raised in Granville and recently moved back from Virginia. She has been a Service Employees International Union organizer.

“With my deepest gratitude to everyone who has volunteered and supported our race, today I announced I'm ending my campaign,” Boone said in an announcement on her Facebook page Thursday.

“Our work here is not done yet. We will continue to work for rural communities and will look to support someone who shares our values,” she said.

“I am humbled by the outpouring of community support and am grateful to everyone who has joined me,” Boone said in an announcement on her campaign web page. “I look forward to supporting someone that shares our values and commitment to help rural communities to win this seat.

“I am committed to staying in Granville and spending more time with my husband and son, parents and brothers, and to continue renovating my great great grandfather’s house,” Boone said.

After calling out Ratigan in her withdrawal announcement, Idleman addressed readers asking them to turn to Cobb as their candidate.

“I am here tonight to ask you – as you consider who you will support in this race – to turn away from the illusion of celebrity and money and return to the real principles our Party stands for.

“I call on you to support a candidate who shares those principles and who has the qualities we hope for in our public servants. Not victory for self-interest but victory for us, the people of our District.

“It comes down to this — I am ending my campaign tonight and proudly throwing my support behind Tedra Cobb. I have come to know Tedra in these last months of campaigning. I know Tedra can and will win this nomination. She can and will beat Elise Stefanik and bring the grassroots voice of NY-21 to Washington.

“Tedra, like me, doesn’t only have roots in this district. She has grown, lived and thrived here – every day. She has been a legislator. She knows what it takes to be elected and she knows what it takes to govern.

“As a Democrat I feel strongly that this is best for my party. It is also what is best for my District. I will stand proudly shoulder to shoulder with Tedra through the rest of the campaign for the nomination and beyond. I call on you to stand with us.”

Rep. Stefanik easily won the contest for a second term in the 21st District seat in November 2016.

Her campaign announced early in February, nine months before the election, that she had $1.2 million in cash on hand for her campaign.