West Tisbury resident Jacob Ferry announced Wednesday that he is pulling out of the race for state representative and throwing his support behind fellow independent candidate Tobias Glidden.

Mr. Glidden and Mr. Ferry were both unenrolled candidates in the race to replace retiring state Rep. Tim Madden. Dylan Fernandes of Falmouth beat four other candidates last week to win the Democratic primary for the seat.

Mr. Ferry said that over the course of the campaign, he and Mr. Glidden got to know each other and “realized we are very similar candidates, and it’s just kind of shooting us in the foot if both of us stay in the race.”

They agreed that Mr. Glidden, a former Nantucket selectman, was in a better position to win, Mr. Ferry told the Gazette by phone Wednesday.

He said he expected that Mr. Glidden, if elected, would caucus with a party. But “you can still be in a party and be independent minded,” Mr. Ferry said. “I think Tobias will vote for what’s best for the Vineyard, Nantucket, and Woods Hole, and not what’s best for himself and his career.”

Mr. Ferry said he will campaign for his former opponent. “I’ll definitely be out and helping him out whenever I can, when he’s on the Vineyard, and I’ll also head to Falmouth,” he said.

This was the first run for office for Mr. Ferry, who is 24, though he had worked on the Marty Walsh for mayor campaign in Boston. He said he threw his hat in the ring early on in the race when he hadn’t seen any candidates that he felt would independently represent the Vineyard.

“You definitely learn a lot about yourself you didn’t know,” he said about his run for office, noting that the Island is small and the state representative race was closely watched.

“I thank Jacob for supporting my campaign,” Mr. Glidden said in a press release Wednesday. “He’s been serving our communities in government for the past several years, and I know that he will continue to serve our communities with compassion and principle for years to come.”

For the time being Mr. Ferry is continuing his day jobs at 20byNine and The Lazy Frog in Oak Bluffs. He said Wednesday that he isn’t sure whether he’ll run again for office.

“I don’t really know what life has in store for me in the future,” he said. “I’m going to help out Tobias in the fall and see where that takes me.”