Warren drops out of presidential race

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ended her presidential bid Thursday after failing to gain traction in the 2020 Democratic primary race. 

Warren made the announcement to her staff on Thursday morning, saying her campaign achieved progress bringing attention to a number of different platforms. 

“We didn’t reach our goal, but what we have done together — what you have done — has made a lasting difference. It’s not the scale of the difference we wanted to make, but it matters — and the changes will have ripples for years to come,” Warren told her staff.

“What we have done — and the ideas we have launched into the world, the way we have fought this fight, the relationships we have built — will carry through, carry through for the rest of this election, and the one after that, and the one after that,” she continued. 

Warren is set to give a press conference at 12:30 pm. 

It is not clear whether Warren will endorse one of the other Democrats still running in the presidential race.

The news comes after Warren failed to perform well in the early primary contests or on Super Tuesday, when she came in third in her home state of Massachusetts. 

Warren championed a number of progressive proposals on the campaign trail, often telling voters and reporters that she “had a plan for that” when asked about specific issues. 

The senator’s campaign was largely based on taking on what she branded as a corrupt financial system in the U.S.

However, Warren ran in the same ideological lane as fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), effectively dividing the Democratic Party’s progressive base. Both senators avoided attacking each other early on in the primary, instead pushing for their liberal proposals including “Medicare for All.” 

That dynamic changed when Warren confirmed a CNN report saying Sanders told the Massachusetts senator that he did not believe a woman could win the presidency during a private meeting in 2018. Sanders denied the allegation. 

One of Warren’s last stands on the campaign trail was on the debate stage when she repeatedly hit former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for his status as a billionaire and about his past alleged comments about former female employees. 

Warren’s exit from the race leaves Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden as the last two viable candidates standing. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is still in the race but has trailed well behind the race’s front-runners.

It is unclear who Warren will endorse going forward in the primary. Her ideological stance aligns more closely with Sanders, but tensions have simmered between the two campaigns and their supporters.

Sanders condemned comments about Warren from a number of his supporters on Wednesday, telling MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that he was “actually disgusted” and “aghast” by online vitriol directed at Warren. 

The Vermont senator confirmed earlier on Wednesday that he had spoken by phone with Warren earlier that morning. 

Updated at 12:22 p.m.