Transgender Democratic candidate Laura Benjamin dropped out of a House race Friday, days after slamming assassinated Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk for "hateful rhetoric."

Benjamin, who was running against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin's Third Congressional District, cited a lack of funding when announcing the suspension of the campaign.

"Running a congressional campaign across a district as large as WI-03 takes significant financial resources," Benjamin said in a statement. "Despite the incredible support we've received, the path to victory simply isn't there without the level of fundraising required to reach voters."

The Democrat's exit from the race reportedly came two days after the campaign began running Facebook ads blasting Kirk, who was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. The digital ads contained donation links and criticized Van Orden for his reaction to Benjamin's comments on Kirk.

"What kind of person blames me for violence just because I condemned Charlie Kirk's hateful rhetoric?" the then-House candidate asked in the ads that ran on Facebook between Wednesday and Thursday. "Derrick Van Orden, of course."

Two of the spots featured comments that Benjamin made in the immediate aftermath of Kirk's murder, which were originally posted on the social media platform Bluesky. These spots also included images of Kirk hosting "The Charlie Kirk Show."

"Charlie Kirk was hateful toward the lgbtq community and called for the eradication of trans care," Benjamin wrote on Bluesky Sept. 10. "Not that this justifies the pain his family will endure or the random violent taking of his life. But it's clear there is a cycle of hate growing. And it's not going to stop with more hate."

On Sept. 17, Benjamin reposted a message on Bluesky calling for "everyone" to "be Antifa" and branded Immigration and Customs Enforcement "America's Gestapo" in an August post.

After a left-aligned think tank called on the Democratic Party not to use terms like "birthing person" and "pregnant people," Benjamin labeled it "actual cancer."

A Federal Election Commission filing shows that Benjamin's campaign had just over $10,000 in cash on hand at the end of June.

There are two other Democrats running to unseat Van Orden in next year's congressional midterm elections.

Rebecca Cooke, who has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is considered the front-runner to win the nomination, having lost to Van Orden last November by about 12,000 votes.

• GOP, Dems Using Charlie Kirk's Death in Campaign Ads
• AOC Smears Kirk's Beliefs as 'Uneducated, Ignorant'