DENVER -- Marc Holtzman ended his long, uphill battle for the Republican nomination for governor Thursday after the Colorado Supreme Court turned down his bid to get on the August primary ballot.

"We want to close ranks" behind Bob Beauprez, the likely GOP nominee, Holtzman said in an emotional meeting with about a dozen campaign staffers.

"While Bob and I have had some disagreements, there is so much more that unites us than divides us," Holtzman said. "I have enormous respect for his character and I know he will be a great governor for Colorado and I look forward to enthusiastically supporting his effort."

About 2 1/2 hours earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to hear Holtzman's challenge to a ruling by the secretary of state that he failed to collect enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. The court gave no reason for its ruling.

Beauprez spokesman John Marshall said the high court had upheld the law and it was time for the campaign to move on.

"What we're seeing here is two candidates who fought a very spirited campaign and we are ready to move forward toward victory in November together ... We're going to unite the Republican Party and carry on our campaign through November. Holtzman ran a good race. Our hats are off to him," Marshall said. "Marc has been true to his word, he placed a call to the congressman just a few hours ago after he found out the news. He was very gracious in his concession and we're looking forward to uniting with him as we move forward to November."

"I intend to very actively engage myself in any way that Bob Beauprez will like me to help him. I want to be a cheerleader for Republican candidates running for state Legislature," Holtzman said.

Beauprez will likely face former Denver prosecutor Bill Ritter, the only Democrat still in the race. Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, is term-limited and cannot run again.

"On the trail, we've gotten to know each other and while we differ on a lot things, I've really enjoyed having Marc being there as a part of the campaign," Ritter said.

Ritter said he wasn't surprised by the ruling and for weeks had considered Beauprez to be his only opponent. But he said the battle within the GOP had helped him because both candidates had to "pander" to conservative Republicans.

"One was just trying to be more conservative than the other, and that was certainly helpful to me because we have this message that speaks to the middle," he said.

Holtzman choked up and some of his staffers were in tears as he announced he was quitting.

"I don't want you to lose the passion or commitment or principles," he told them. "There are lots of victories ahead and there are going to be some disappointments. The important thing is to stay in the game, stay in the fight, and stay with your ideals."

Holtzman said he plans to get married on July 8 to Kristen Hubbell, a spokeswoman for Attorney General John Suthers, and now will have more time to think about his future and plan for his wedding.

He and his staffers swapped jokes about his next role. He said he doesn't plan to become "Mr. Mom," but they said he could be a wedding planner.

Holtzman first filed suit in District Court seeking to overturn the secretary of state but then asked the Supreme Court to take jurisdiction before Denver District Court Judge Robert Hyatt had issued a final ruling.

The Supreme Court refused to step in.

Holtzman wanted the high court to overturn Hyatt's ruling that Holtzman needed 1,500 valid petition signatures from each of the state's seven congressional districts. Holtzman argued he should qualify by having 10,500 signatures total, without the district-by-district requirement.

Holtzman also wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Hyatt's order removing Holtzman's name from the ballot after Holtzman asked the high court to step in.

Holtzman's legal battles started last month after Republicans voted to put only Beauprez's name on the primary ballot, and party leaders urged Holtzman to withdraw for the sake of unity.

But Holtzman, a former president of the University of Denver and Owens' one-time technology secretary, refused and instead launched a petition drive -- only to have the secretary of state rule he did not have enough valid signatures.

To read more about the Supreme Court's ruling, click here. To read all the rulings related to this case, go to the state court's Web site.