Former US representative Beto O’Rourke on Friday announced that he was ending his Democratic presidential campaign, which failed to recapture the enthusiasm, interest and fundraising prowess of his bid for a seat in the US Senate last year.
Addressing supporters in Iowa, O’Rourke said that he made the decision “reluctantly” and vowed to stay active in the fight to defeat US President Donald Trump.
“I will be part of this and so will you,” he said.
O’Rourke was urged to run for president by many Democrats, including supporters of former US president Barack Obama, who were energized by his narrow Senate loss last year in Texas, a reliably Republican state.
He raised a record US$80 million from donors across the country, visited every county in Texas and used social media and livestreaming video to engage directly with voters. He ultimately lost to incumbent US Senator Ted Cruz by 3 percentage points.
However, O’Rourke, 47, struggled to replicate that model in the presidential primary, and both his polling and his fundraising dwindled significantly in the past few months.
“We have to clearly see, at this point, that we did not have the means to pursue this campaign successfully and that my service will not be as a candidate, nor as a nominee of this party for the presidency,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke’s decision came as the Democratic primary entered a critical stretch.
With three months until the Iowa caucuses, polls have consistently shown a trio of candidates leading the way: former US vice president Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, with Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, showing strength in Iowa, as well.
O’Rourke entered the race as the feel-good, dynamic candidate who had the ability to appeal to both Republicans and Democrats and work across the aisle in Washington.
However, he immediately faced criticism that he had a sense of entitlement, particularly after the release of a Vanity Fair interview on the eve of his campaign launch in which he appeared to say he was “born” to be in presidential politics.
After quickly pulling in US$9.4 million in his first two weeks in the race, O’Rourke’s financial situation deteriorated. By the end of June, he was spending more than his campaign was taking in.
Perhaps more significantly, the small-dollar contributions that fueled his Senate bid and the early days of his presidential campaign slowed to a US$1.9 million trickle.
O’Rourke did not endorse anyone for the nomination, saying that the country would be well-served by any of the other candidates, “and I’m going to be proud to support whoever that nominee is.”
Trump quickly weighed in on O’Rourke’s exit, saying on Twitter: “Oh no, Beto just dropped out of race for President despite him saying he was ‘born for this.’ I don’t think so!”
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