AUGUSTA — The candidate who Gov. Paul LePage controversially nominated last week to serve as Kennebec County’s next sheriff over the objections of county Democrats pulled his name from consideration on Wednesday.

The move from Chief Deputy Ken Mason of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office ends a potential legal fight between the Republican governor’s office and the Kennebec County Democratic Committee and — for now — leaves interim Kennebec County Sheriff Ryan Reardon at the helm.

Reardon has been interim Kennebec County sheriff since Democrat Randall Liberty took the warden’s job at the Maine State Prison in September. Maine law says the county party committee of the departing sheriff is required to submit recommendations for an appointment to the governor, who must “choose from any recommendations” submitted by the committee.

But LePage has been feuding with committee Democrats since they only forwarded one name — Reardon’s — for the job. Mason, also a Democrat, submitted his name for consideration, but the committee rebuffed him.

Instead, LePage announced last week that he’d nominate Mason, who said that he didn’t know that he’d be nominated until the governor called his office that day. In a news release then, LePage blasted the committee for “silly games.”

His play may have never worked: It would have had to have been certified by Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, whose office said it had concerns about the legality of LePage’s appointment of someone who had not been recommended by the county party. The law seems to intend for more than one name to be forwarded to the governor, but it doesn’t say he can nominate whoever he wants.

In a Wednesday statement, LePage said the committee’s “political trickery” placed a well-qualified candidate “in a very difficult situation.”