Cory Booker Drops Out Of 2020 Presidential Race

Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) announced on Monday morning that he will be dropping out of the Democratic presidential race. 

“Nearly one year ago, I got in the race for president because I believed to my core that the answer to the common pain Americans are feeling right now, the answer to Donald Trump’s hatred and division, is to reignite our spirit of common purpose to take on our biggest challenges and build a more just and fair country for everyone,” he said in an email to his supporters. 

“I’ve always believed that. I still believe that. I’m proud I never compromised my faith in these principles during this campaign to score political points or tear down others.”

“And maybe I’m stubborn, but I’ll never abandon my faith in what we can accomplish when we join together,” he added. “I will carry this fight forward — I just won’t be doing it as a candidate for president this year.”

A campaign official told NBC that before the message was sent out to his supporters, Booker held a staff call at his headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.  

Booker attributed his decision to end the campaign to a lack of financial resources, his inability to qualify for the next Democratic debate, and the need for him to remain in Washington, D.C. ahead of the impeachment trial. “Our campaign has reached the point where we need more money to scale up and continue building a campaign that can win — money we don’t have, and money that is harder to raise because I won’t be on the next debate stage and because the urgent business of impeachment will rightly be keeping me in Washington.”

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Booker was polling at about two percent. Other candidates who have terminated their campaigns this month include author Marianne Williamson and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro.