Kamala Harris Ends Presidential Bid; Califormia Senator Tells Supporters She Lacks Cash To Continue – Update

    Ted Johnson
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    UPDATED with statement from Sen. Kamala Harris: Just weeks away from the next Democratic debate in her home state, Sen. Kamala Harris of California is ending her presidential campaign — a surprise decision after her bid for the White House in 2020 faltered.

    Harris informed her staff of her decision to suspend her campaign early on Tuesday afternoon, having canceled a fundraising event in New York.

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    It has been the honor of my life to be your candidate. We will keep up the fight. pic.twitter.com/RpZhx3PENl

    “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue,” Harris wrote in the correspondence to supporters. “I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.”

    She added: “In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do. So, to you my supporters, it is with deep regret — but also with deep gratitude — that I am suspending my campaign today.”

    The news caught some of her California donors and supporters by surprise. One group of supporters had formed a SuperPAC and was readying an advertising blitz in Iowa, hopeful that they could reverse a campaign slump.

    Mathew Littman, a political consultant and surrogate for the campaign, said that despite her decision to drop out, she has “a long, great political future.”

    Although she perpetually was low in the polls, Harris was a top choice among Hollywood donors, having hosted the first major event that drew a mix of industry supporters and longtime Los Angeles donors at the home of Universal’s Jeff Shell back in January. Ever since her stint as the Golden State’s Attorney General, Harris had cultivated Tinseltown support, and many donors in the industry were impressed by her ability to bridge the liberal and moderate wings of the party.

    Her campaign launch in January seemed to go flawlessly. She built up interest with a book tour and an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, followed by a formal kickoff in Oakland that drew more than 20,000 people. Even President Donald Trump praised her campaign’s rollout.

    But despite the promising start and fairly good debate performances, the only African-American woman in the race has struggled recently. Even as one of the Dems’ most pugilistic foes of the former Celebrity Apprentice host, California’s junior senator had languished in the low- to mid-single digits in the polls after being among the top tier of contenders early in the summer. Even as she still enjoyed significant support from the entertainment industry, a number of bundlers remained uncommitted and spread their wealth among other candidates, including Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

    Stories in the Washington Post and The New York Times about staff turmoil and exits had the feel of “what went wrong?” campaign obituaries. At a recent California Democratic Party convention, Politico reported that some in the party were suggesting that she abandon her bid or risk an embarrassing showing in the California primary in March.

    Still, Harris had qualified for the next Democratic debate — set for December 19 in Los Angeles — where she was expected to find a very friendly crowd. In the endless spin cycle of today’s cable news, the speculation already has shifted to whether Harris could be angling for a vice presidential nomination. Welcome to the circus.

    Here is Harris’s full email to her supporters today:

    Eleven months ago at the launch of our campaign in Oakland I told you all: “I am not perfect. But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. I will speak the truth.”

    And that’s what I have tried to do every day of this campaign. So here’s the truth today.

    I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life.

    My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.

    I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.

    In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do.

    So, to you my supporters, it is with deep regret — but also with deep gratitude — that I am suspending my campaign today.

    But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight.

    And I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for The People. All the people.

    Our campaign has been about fighting for people whose voices have not been heard or too often ignored.

    We will keep up that fight.

    Let’s remember: we were the first to put the injustice of inadequate teacher pay on the national agenda.

    We will keep up that fight.

    We were the first to demand justice for our children, declaring we would take bold executive actions to stop gun violence.

    We will keep up that fight.

    We were the first to demand justice for women with a plan to block unconstitutional state abortion laws.

    We will keep up that fight.

    And our campaign uniquely spoke to the experiences of Black women and people of color — and their importance to the success and future of this party. Our campaign demanded no one should be taken for granted by any political party.

    We will keep up that fight because no one should be made to fight alone.

    And I believe our campaign showed every child in America — regardless of their color or gender — that there are no limits to who can lead and hold positions of power in our country.

    In that way — this campaign has been so much bigger than me.

    I am extremely grateful to the hundreds of staff who moved and uprooted their lives and sacrificed time away from their families. I know our fight has been personal for each of them.

    Of course I could not have done this without my husband Doug and my entire family and friends who gave up so much to embark on this journey with me and have supported me every step of the way.

    And I am grateful to the thousands of volunteers and contributors who chipped in, who knocked on doors, who made calls and who put their faith and trust in me. It has been the honor of my life to be your candidate.

    And I want to be clear: although I am 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.

    I know you will too. So let’s do that together.

    Let’s keep fighting for the America we believe in, an America free of injustice. An America that we know we can be unburdened by what has been.

    Thank you.

    Dominic Patten contributed to this report

     

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