State Attorney General Letitia James pulled out of the governor’s race after failing to hit a $5 million fundraising ultimatum set by Democratic leaders in her Brooklyn hometown, multiple sources told The Post.

James dropped her short-lived campaign Thursday, after learning the Brooklyn Democratic Party would back incumbent Gov. Hochul in the 2022 contest if James couldn’t beef up stalled fundraising efforts, sources said.

“She was told she needed to have $5 million in the bank by January – otherwise we’re going with Hochul,” insisted a top Brooklyn Democratic operative.

It was unclear whether James – who’s never been known as a big fundraiser despite her political cache – could have even pocketed $2 million in donations by year’s end, said another source. As of July, James had $1.6 million on hand, according to her most recent campaign filing.

“She saw the writing on the wall that, if she couldn’t even get Brooklyn’s support, this was a race she couldn’t win,” added the source.

Hochul’s campaign last month reported $11.1 million cash on hand – exceeding an earlier goal to bring in $10 million by the end of 2021.

A James spokeswoman adamantly denied any fundraising ultimatums were made, saying it is “complete fiction.” She refused to say how much James raised for a gubernatorial bid.

State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party, denied insider claims of a fundraising minimum.

“Tish James has long had the support of countless elected officials in Brooklyn, and the idea that future support would be contingent upon fundraising is as false as it is offensive,” Bichotte Hermelyn said.

Hochul, who made history by becoming New York’s first female governor in August after Andrew Cuomo resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal, secured a lion’s share of bigshot Democratic donors even before James launched her campaign in late October.

“We locked up the establishment donors and supporters so fast that by the time she got to everyone it was over,” a person close to Hochul boasted to The Post.

At the time, James was touted a top contender, fresh off her office’s scathing report that helped drive Cuomo out of office, and she was seeking to make history of her own as New York’s first black woman governor.

However, city-based Democratic operatives said James kept running into a common problem: deep-pocketed donors and bundlers couldn’t comprehend why she was taking on a fellow female.

“She was expecting to get all these female bundlers behind her, but they were like, ‘We already have a woman governor,’” said one operative.

James said in a prepared statement Thursday that she was ending her gubernatorial campaign and, instead, seeking re-election as attorney general and completing a civil fraud probe of ex-President Donald Trump’s business practices.

But sources said that was just a face-saving cover story.

“You can’t lose your own borough if you’re running for governor,” said a top Big Apple Democratic strategist.

Forty-four minutes after James’ exit, Bichotte Hermelyn endorsed Hochul.

“Kathy has accomplished more in four months than many of her predecessors in an entire term,” Bichotte Hermelyn tweeted Thursday.

Only a week earlier, James attended a gala birthday party for Bichotte Hermelyn, where she both publicly praised the county chairwoman’s leadership and touted her own campaign for governor, according to a video tweeted by the Kings County Democratic Committee.

Sources said Brooklyn party leaders’ decision to snub James was a final straw for a campaign already headed on a downward spiral, as Hochul is well ahead in fundraising, endorsements and early polls.

Last spring, Brooklyn Democratic leaders told The Post that James was the Kings County Democratic Committee’s top choice for governor – long before she decided to enter the race, but also while Cuomo, not Hochul, was in power.

If James remained in the race, she would have faced significant competition. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, another black Brooklyn resident running for governor, threatened to cut into key support she hoped to receive.

 Additional reporting by Melissa Klein and Conor Skelding.