The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that  the field of Democratic candidates in the race for the U.S. Senate in 2012 has narrowed yet again with candidate Robert Massie announcing he’s out of the contest!

According to the AP:

Massie said in a statement Friday that “the momentum of the race has shifted so profoundly” that he could no longer see a path to victory.

Massie’s decision comes a week after Newton Mayor Setti Warren also dropped out, citing trouble raising money and the entrance of Harvard professor and consumer activist Elizabeth Warren into the race.

Massie didn’t mention Elizabeth Warren by name in his statement. She has emerged as a frontrunner in recent polls.

The remaining Democrats include City Year youth program co-founder Alan Khazei (KAY’-zee); immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco; state Rep. Tom Conroy and Newton resident Herb Robinson.

Over on boston.com, politics editor Glen Johnson and staff writer Noah Bierman are  also covering the story:

It became a choice of, do you keep going for a couple of months or do you stop early in the face of reality?” said Massie, who sounded upbeat in a phone interview this morning.

Massie said no one asked him to withdraw from the race. He held his final campaign event last night, which he said turned into a celebration of his nine-month effort to win the nomination. He was also praised by fellow Democrats during a labor event yesterday in Quincy in which several candidates spoke.

Read the full article here at boston.com.