Ghosts of 2020 presidential past
What former candidates have said about dropping out of the race.
The competition for the Democratic nominee seat started with a deep field of senators, representatives, governors, mayors, party insiders, authors, veterans — even businessmen. Not only was the crowd racially diverse, but also politically, socially and fiscally eclectic. But there can only be one nominee! Here are some candidates we had to say goodbye to who had remarkable parting words.
Marianne Williamson
Williamson’s campaign lasted one year and one day. An author by trade, she has written 13 books and founded a couple of successful nonprofits. She unsuccessfully ran for California’s 33rd Congressional District in 2014 and on January 9, 2019 announced her candidacy for president.
Despite her knowledge of “dark psychic forces” inhibiting the nation, Williamson failed to stand out in a crowded field and was never able to rise above 3 percent in national polls. The Williamson campaign criticized the media for neither giving her enough attention nor taking her candidacy seriously. “The system is more corrupt than I thought, but people are better than I could have hoped,” Williamson said during a post-campaign book event.
Beto O’Rourke
El Paso’s O’Rourke served as a member of the city’s council from 2005 to 2011 before being elected to the represent Texas’ 16th congressional district in 2012, defeating eight-time incumbent Silvestre Reyes in the primary. O’Rourke declined to run for reelection and instead ran for a senate seat against well-established Ted Cruz, ultimately losing the contest. Still, he set a record for most votes ever cast for a democrat in Texas history. Using the loss as a springboard, O’Rourke threw his hat in the ring for president on March 14, 2019.
He was supposed to be a disruptor. As a Texas native, many felt he would attract conservative swing voters and was seen as the premier candidate on gun rights and immigration. O’Rourke ended his campaign on November 1, 2019, posting a lengthy Medium article and a series of tweets: “Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act.”
Jay Inslee
Serving as the Governor of Washington since 2013, he garnered national attention for Washington v. Trump: a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s ban on entry from seven Muslim-majority countries. He served in the House from 1993 to 1995 and 1999 to 2012. Climate change compelled him to submit his bid for president on March 1, 2019; he successfully pressured his running mates to formulate environmental plans of their own.
Low polling pushed him out on August 21, 2019, even though he qualified for first and second debates. In an interview with MSNBC, Inslee said, “It’s become clear I’m not going to be carrying the ball — I’m not going to be president, so I’m withdrawing tonight from the race. But I have to tell you, look, I’ve been fighting climate change for 25 years and I’ve never been so confident of the ability of America now to reach critical mass to move the ball.”
Kirsten Gillibrand
First launching a presidential exploratory committee on January 15, 2019, Gillibrand’s team released an official announcement video on March 17, 2019. The New York senator focused on sexual assault, systematic racism, paid family leave and urban gun violence; the #MeToo movement gave her campaign a boost in popularity and she was seen as a leading candidate on the issue of women’s equality. Prior to running for office, Gillibrand represented New York’s 20th Congressional District from 2007 to 2009 before being appointed to Hillary Clinton’s senate seat.
Gillibrand suspended her campaign on August 28, 2019 after failing to qualify for the third democratic debate. Gillibrand mentioned that she would be open to endorsing another candidate, although she did not say whether she would endorse a woman. “I think that women have a unique ability to bring people together and heal this country,” Gillibrand said. “I will support whoever the nominee is and I will do whatever it takes to beat Trump.”
Julian Castro
The former mayor of San Antonio served as the Housing and Urban Development head during President Obama’s second term: the youngest member of the former president’s cabinet. Castro moved through the ranks of the party relatively quickly and almost became Hillary Clinton’s running mate during the 2016 election. He officially began his campaign on January 12, 2019. As the democratic races’ only Latino candidate, he diversified the field and appealed to a key block of the Democrat’s voting segment; his recent goodbye signaled toward a larger trend of minority candidates being squished out.
Upon ending his campaign, Castro endorsed Elizabeth Warren. To all of his former competitors, he said: “I’m so proud of the campaign we’ve run together. We’ve shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this race, stood up for the most vulnerable people and given a voice to those who are often forgotten. But with only a month until the Iowa caucuses and given the circumstances of this campaign season, I have determined that it simply isn’t our time.”
Bill De Blasio
Remember when there were two New York City mayors in the race? de Blasio has served as New York City’s 109th mayor since 2014. Known for de-escalation training for NYPD officers and highlighting stark economic inequality, he was seen as more socially liberal and progressive. On May 16, 2019, de Blasio threw his hat into the ring for president — the first incumbent mayor of New York City to run for president since John Lindsay. He questioned lead candidate Joe Biden and vocalized his opinion on policies like a robot tax, federal minimum wage of $15 per hour and staunch foreign policy initiatives like pulling troops out of Afghanistan.
At one point in his campaign, more than 76 percent of New Yorkers didn’t want him to run for president. Many criticized de Blasio for simply eyeing the next political opportunity. He suspended his campaign September 20, 2019, citing his inability to make it onto the September and October debate stages; a series of gaffes at campaign events and rallies also did not help his case. He said this on the suspension of his campaign: “We don’t have to worry about a lack of unity; we do need to worry about a lack of passion. If Democrats don’t stand for something, do not assume people will come out and vote if they’re not inspired.”
Kamala Harris
If there is a candidate on this list that had the most promise for president, it was Kamala Harris: a bold claim backed by her experience as a district attorney and 2004–2007 stint as California Attorney General. Harris was elected to represent California in the senate in 2017 — the third woman to do so and the first of Indian or Jamaican descent. She declared her candidacy on January 21, 2019 and within the first 24 hours tied a record set by Bernie Sanders in 2016 for the most donations raised in the day following announcement. More than 20,000 people attended her formal campaign launch.
Harris characterized her platform by advocating for single-payer healthcare, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, banning assault rifles and lowering tax burdens on the lower and middle classes. She also was a strong leader in criminal justice reform and expressed views on regulation of big tech. The attorney used her skills as a prosecutor to dominate the debate stage; she went after Joe Biden on a myriad of issues, most notably for not supporting busing. But Harris was confronted by her past positions on marijuana, cash bail and parole reform. Over the next few months, her campaign fell into the single digits; on December 2, 2019, she withdrew her nomination, citing a shortage of funds.
“My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue. But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight,” she said, later adding, “Although I’m no longer running for president, I will do everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump and fight for the future of our country and the best of who we are.”
