Ivan Bates will be the new city state’s attorney for Baltimore, after independent candidate Roya Hanna dropped out of the race on Friday.

There are no Republican challengers for the city prosecutor role.

Bates earned 40.4% of the vote edging out two-term incumbent Marilyn Mosby and competitor Thiru Vignarajah during the Democratic primary.

Vignarajah garnered 30.5% while Mosby had 29% of the votes.

Hanna said she started her campaign with the idea that what Baltimore needed was a change at the state’s attorney’s office. A change that will put public safety above politics and make the criminal justice system work for everyone. Especially including the victims of violent crime and their families.

Bates’s nomination will bring forth the change she wanted to see and that he’ll be able to reduce the number of homicides in Baltimore, she said while congratulating him at a press conference downtown.

In the past six months, there have been more than 200 homicides across the city. Hanna said there is no time to waste in rebuilding the state’s attorney’s office.

“The risk is that hundreds of more lives may be lost while we await the political process, and that the next state’s attorney will be able to have the people and policies in place and ready to be implemented - day one,” she said.

Bates said with Hanna dropping out of the race, it will give his team time to have policies and people in place in order to implement change starting from day one.

“And so for us, that now means that we have the opportunity to sit, talk, meet with the electors, meet with the leaders," he said.

Hanna said crime is the number one issue affecting Baltimore and is the reason the city and citizens aren’t achieving the greatness that she knows is possible in Baltimore.

“Tackling this problem must start today. Baltimore has voted for change and that is the very reason why I entered this race. I made the decision to suspend my campaign for Baltimore City State’s Attorney so the city can move forward, and every community member, police department official and other stakeholders can make our city safer,” she said.

Her goal in running was to make change in Baltimore.

“I’m putting the safety and security of the residents of Baltimore City ahead of my own political interests, because for me, this was never about political ambition. This was about getting a professional prosecutor in that office who would put the city first,” she said.

A prosecutor’s job, Hanna said, is to be the voice of the people. To make difficult decisions that protect the community.

“I believe Mr. Bates will do that and he needs the support of every member of this city,” she said.

Though Baltimore may have a legacy of violence, Hanna said that does not have to be the future.

“We have people in every corner of the city who dedicate their lives to make sure the city prospers and survives,” she said.

Bates said there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of people who want to be part of the change.