With Lt. Gov. John Cherry dropping out of the 2010 race to succeed Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Republicans will have a tougher race ahead, said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

Patterson said he expects some underfunded Republicans seeking the GOP nomination in August will drop out after the next campaign finance reports are filed Feb. 1.

He also predicts that Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox will emerge as the GOP front-runner when it comes to raising money, aside from Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder, who so far is mostly self-funding his campaign.

"It's going to make the Republican side of the ledger a little more challenging," Patterson said of Cherry's departure from the race. "We were all hoping Cherry would stay in. He would have to defend the indefensible -- he would have to defend the Granholm record.

"Now they're a lot more viable," Patterson said.

The race to succeed Granholm as governor is a hot-button contest this year in a state battered by job losses and high unemployment.

Granholm cannot run again because of term limits.

With Cherry out of the race, a slew of Democrats are now looking at running for governor, including state House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford.

"Andy Dillon probably moves to the head of the pack," Patterson said. "You've got other senators looking at it ... but I think Dillon's probably the guy to beat."

Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor in August are Cox, Snyder, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, state Sen. Tom George, and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

"I'm sure Cox will be over $1 million," Patterson said. "I think he'll probably be the only candidate who is.

"I think the really underfunded ones will have to look at dropping out at some point," Patterson said, specifically mentioning Sen. George. "If you can't raise the money, you can't be competitive."

Patterson said Cox is probably the front-runner among Republicans at this point, months ahead of the August primary, but that Bouchard remains a viable candidate. Patterson has backed Bouchard so far.

Snyder, an Ann Arbor businessman who loaned his campaign $340,000 last September, "is a nice guy, but he's not getting any traction.