To our 240,000 donors, our 77,000 volunteers, and everyone across the country who believed --
We’re proud of you, Team Beto. Keep fighting the good fight. pic.twitter.com/PdlgTjbsI1— Team Beto (@TeamBeto) November 1, 2019
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3036019/democrat-beto-orourke-drops-2020-us-presidential United States & Canada
Democrat Beto O’Rourke drops out of 2020 US presidential race
- Former Texas congressman was propelled into spotlight during 2018 Senate race, in which he narrowly lost to incumbent Ted Cruz
- But O’Rourke struggled to recapture enthusiasm and fundraising prowess of that campaign, resulting in dwindling polls in recent months
Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke talks to reporters after the fourth Democratic presidential election debate at Otterbein University in Ohio in October. Photo: Reuters
Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman, announced on Friday that he was ending his Democratic presidential campaign, which failed to recapture the enthusiasm, interest and fundraising prowess of his 2018 Senate race.
In an online post, O’Rourke said, “My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.”
He was expected to address supporters later on Friday at an event in Iowa.
O’Rourke was urged to run for president by many Democrats who were energised by his narrow Senate loss last year in Texas, a reliably Republican state.
He raised an astonishing amount of money from small donors across the country, visited every county in Texas and used social media and live-streaming video to engage directly with voters.
He ultimately lost to incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz by 3 percentage points.
But O’Rourke struggled to replicate that model in the presidential primary and both his polling and his fundraising dwindled significantly in recent months.
“Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully,” he wrote 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.”