ST. GEORGE — A St. George mayoral candidate has dropped out of the city's first mayoral election after a reporter questioned him about a prostitution solicitation arrest from nearly 30 years ago. 

Jim Morgan, a Republican board commissioner of the St. George Fire Protection District, said he had suspended all campaign activities and dropped out of the race less than a month after qualifying.

“Today I’m announcing that I’m dropping out of the race for the mayor of St. George and will suspend all my campaign activities. After a couple of weeks trying to mount a campaign against an extremely well funded opponent, I can see the writing on the wall. I want to continue to be a voice for solutions for St. George," Morgan said in a statement distributed by a spokesperson.

This leaves Interim Mayor Dustin Yates, also Republican, as the unopposed candidate in the newly formed city's election. 

The news of Morgan dropping out was first reported by The Advocate on Tuesday.

The newspaper said Morgan abruptly withdrew after one of their reporters asked his campaign about a 1997 guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of soliciting a prostitute. The crime happened in 1996 when Morgan, now 62, was 34, according to court records.

As of Tuesday afternoon, his campaign website was de-activated. 

The election is March 29.