DeKALB — Ameya Pawar, Chicago 47th ward alderperson and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, announced he is dropping out of the race citing a lack of funding.

Pawar attempted to run a grassroots campaign similar to that of Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator (I-VT) and former Democratic presidential candidate, appealing to young voters by being accessible on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit.

Pawar put out a news release Oct. 12 that outlined the issues his campaign ran into.

“The race for Illinois governor will set a record as the costliest race in American history,” Pawar said in the press release. “For the sake of democracy, I hope we see this as a troubling trend.”

Gov. Bruce Rauner spent $65 million of his own money on his 2014 campaign. Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker is heading down the same path, spending $28.2 million of his own money on his current campaign, according to IllinoisSunshine.org, which is run by political advocacy group Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

“Right now, we’re seeing a pair of billionaire candidates separating themselves from the pack,” said Tim Kirsininkas, NIU College Democrats president. “Pritzker is using his own money to buy TV time to promote his campaign. Money is already playing a huge role.”

Unlike Rauner, who is running for re-election, and Pritzker, Pawar could not put forth his own money to fund his campaign, Kirsininkas said.

Pawar was only able to gather $825,000 in campaign funding from 2,526 donors, according to the press release. He did, however, have the 10,000 signatures needed to make it onto the ballot.

While he may have had the support of enough people to make it onto the ballot, Pawar said he did not have the establishment and donor support of the other candidates.

While trailing behind Pritzker in the funding category, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Daniel Biss and Chris Kennedy have respectively received $3.3 million and $2.7 million in donations, according to IllinoisSunshine.org. Roughly $500,000 of Kennedy’s campaign is self funded.

The race will be controversial and polarizing not only because of the money spent, but because of the dynamic between Illinois’ Democrats and Republicans, Kirsininkas said.

“All of the candidates are speaking directly to the Democratic party,” Kirsininkas said. “Obviously, after the primary, then you will see more of a change in terms of saying ‘let’s go against the establishment. Let’s go against the billionaires.’ ”