The writing has been on the wall for some time, but still they press on.
I’m talking about the 2020 Democrats, of course, who are meandering through the primaries in a wide and varied formation. There are far too many still vying for a chance at the Oval Office – a reality that has been apparent from the very start.
There are now just four in the race that truly matter: Former Vice President Joe Biden, Indianapolis Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and then Senators Liz Warren and Bernie Sanders. Outside of that dissonant Democratic quartet, there is little more than attention seekers and PAC-packing fundraising schemes.
Likely due to the increasing obviousness of the preceding, a man who told Vanity Fair earlier in the campaign that he was “born to run for President”, has now thrown in the towel.
Former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX) announced Friday evening that he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.
“Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully. My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee,” O’Rourke said in a statement posted to 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.”
“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 before it is too late, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act in the best interests of America,” the Texas Democrat added. “I’m confident I will see you down the road, and I look forward to that day.”
Beto had been consistently reinventing himself over the course of the campaign, hoping to catch some sort of spark with voters.
Apparently, it just wasn’t meant to be…despite O’Rourke’s insistence that it was.
