Former Texas Democrat congressman Beto O’Rourke announced Friday he is withdrawing from the 2020 presidential race, telling supporters “it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully.”
O’Rourke entered the race in March to great fanfare after nearly defeating Texas incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterms but struggled to gain traction in the massive Democratic primary field.
“My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee,” O’Rourke wrote in a post on Medium. “Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country.”
“Man, I’m just born to be in it.” Beto O’Rourke seemed to come from nowhere to the brink of a presidential candidacy—but he’s been on this journey for his whole life. O’Rourke spoke with Joe Hagan. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz. https://t.co/WhmQGZnbUg pic.twitter.com/a7DCoaZdtd
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) March 13, 2019
O’Rourke was in Iowa, ahead of a planned appearance at an event in Des Moines, when he announced his exit from the race. On Friday, an emotional O’Rourke addressed a group of supporters after the news broke. “This has been the honor of my lifetime,” he told them. “I love you all and I know that I’ll be seeing you down the road.” – read more