(AP) -- A former adviser to ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich has withdrawn his application to be the state's Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

Bob Arya withdrew his application Thursday. In a letter to Democratic party officials, he says he's throwing his support behind State Rep. Arthur Turner.

Turner ran for lieutenant governor in the primary and came in second to Scott Lee Cohen.

Cohen has since left the race, and Democratic officials are accepting applications from people interested in filling his spot on the ballot.

Nearly 150 applications have been submitted this week.

Arya was a longtime journalist who left the industry to work for Blagojevich in 2006. He quit in 2008 because of what he described as the former governor's ineptitude.