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WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Reuters) – US Representative Seth Moulton, who launched a lengthy offer for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election, ended his campaign on Friday, warning that the party must now decide the distance it wants to move.
"Today, I want to use this opportunity … to announce that I'm finishing my campaign for the presidency," said Moulton in a speech to the Democratic National Committee in San Francisco, according to statements made by his campaign.
"Although this campaign does not end as we hoped, I leave this race knowing that we have raised issues of vital importance to the American people and our future."
Moulton, a 40-year-old Iraq war veteran who is considering representing himself in the district that he represents in Massachusetts, has failed to get the support he needed. to qualify for the debates. Without appearing in these televised events at the national level, he had little hope of gaining ground.
He is the third Democrat to end a presidential campaign this month. Washington governor Jay Inslee gave up the race earlier this week, and former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper did so the week before.
Moulton did not approve of one of his rivals for the inauguration, but said the race to the crowd with more than 20 Democrats seemed to be shrinking. The nominee will meet President Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate, in November 2020.
"I think it's obvious that it's now a three-way race between (former Vice President Joe) Biden, (US Senator Elizabeth) Warren." and the (US Senator Bernie) Sanders, and that it's actually a debate about how far the party should go, "Moulton told the New York Times in an interview before his announcement.
Biden represents the more centrist faction of the Democratic Party, while Warren of Massachusetts and Sanders of Vermont support more liberal policies.
Other Democrats who fail to qualify for the third debate, to be held Sept. 12-13 in Houston, may also feel rushed to leave the race. Candidates must have at least 130,000 unique donors and reach 2% in four opinion polls no later than August 28th to qualify.
US senators Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), Michael Bennet (Colorado) and Montana, Steve Bullock, have not yet qualified.
Moulton built his political career by challenging the party's creation. After Democrats regained control of the US House of Representatives in 2018, Moulton helped organize an opposition to the candidacy of Representative Nancy Pelosi to become Speaker of the House again. He failed this effort.
He used his presidential campaign to draw attention to the problems of veterans, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and access to health care.
(Report by Ginger Gibson, edited by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)
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