Unlikely to qualify for the next debate among Democratic candidates for the White House, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington State told supporters in an email on Wednesday night that he was dropping his bid for the Democratic Party's nomination for President, further thinning the field with just over five months until the first vote is cast.
"I want to share a tough decision with you," Inslee said to supporters, as he cited his top priority of climate change.
"But I've concluded that my role in that effort will not be as a candidate to be the next president of the United States," Inslee added.
Earlier in the week, Inslee touted that his campaign had hit 130,000 donors - one of the qualifying requirements for the next Democratic debate in Houston.
But Inslee had no chance to register at 2 percent or higher in four different polls, leaving him on the sidelines - and off the debate stage.
"As a result, I don't believe we can compete for the attention and exposure needed to have a reasonable shot at the nomination," Inslee said.
Inslee had tried hard to be the loudest voice in the party on climate change, bringing it up in both debates, and doing numerous events on the subject.
But the former Congressman, and current Governor, was never able to break out of the lower tier of Democratic candidates.
“I want to once again thank everyone who helped in this effort. We have so much to be proud of,” Inslee wrote to his backers. “Make no mistake, we also have a lot more work to do.”
On MSNBC Wednesday night, Inslee said it was clear this was the right choice.
“I'm not going to be carrying the ball,” Inslee said in an interview. “I'm not going to be the President, so I'm withdrawing tonight.”
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