O’Rourke exits Democratic primary

Beto+ORourke+addressing+his+decision+to+drop+out+of+the+2020+presidential+election+at+the+Liberty+and+Justice+Celebration+on+Nov.+1.

Olivia Benjamin

Beto O’Rourke addressing his decision to drop out of the 2020 presidential election at the Liberty and Justice Celebration on Nov. 1.

Jake Webster

Beto O’Rourke is ending his presidential campaign.

The former Texas congressman entered the presidential race on a wave of enthusiasm following his near-defeat of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in the state’s 2018 U.S. Senate election.

“Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully,” O’Rourke said in a Medium post.

Upon entering the race, O’Rourke raised the most money of any candidate on their first day campaigning until Joe Biden entered the race.

O’Rourke also received a bump in the polls upon his entry, jumping into third behind Biden and Bernie Sanders.

As the primary race has taken its toll, O’Rourke has dropped in polls and in fundraising. The congressman was at risk of not qualifying for the November Democratic presidential debate due to his low polling numbers.

In O’Rourke’s Medium post, he said he ran for president because he believed he could “bring a divided country together.” He also said he also thanked his supporters for being with him “from the beginning” and pledged his support to the eventual nominee.

“We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020,” O’Rourke said in the post. “I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I’m going to be proud to support whoever that nominee is.”

In the most recent poll of likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers conducted by Siena College released Friday, O’Rourke was in 12th place, with 1 percent support.