"But I've concluded that my role in that effort will not be as a candidate to be the next president of the United States," Inslee added.
Earlier in the week, Inslee touted that his campaign had hit 130,000 donors - one of the qualifying requirements for the next Democratic debate in Houston.
But Inslee had no chance to register at 2 percent or higher in four different polls, leaving him on the sidelines - and off the debate stage.
"As a result, I don't believe we can compete for the attention and exposure needed to have a reasonable shot at the nomination," Inslee said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announces he's ending his 2020 Democratic presidential bid, saying it's become clear he won't win. https://t.co/ZZ7L
BREAKING: Washington Governor Jay Inslee tells Rachel #Maddow that he is exiting the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race. pic.twitter.com/u8ZVlTjytM
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) August 22, 2019So early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and organize. Together, we will continue the fight to defeat the climate crisis.
— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) August 22, 2019
Inslee had tried hard to be the loudest voice in the party on climate change, bringing it up in both debates, and doing numerous events on the subject.
But the former Congressman, and current Governor, was never able to break out of the lower tier of Democratic candidates.
“I want to once again thank everyone who helped in this effort. We have so much to be proud of,” Inslee wrote to his backers. “Make no mistake, we also have a lot more work to do.”
.@JayInslee exiting just days after clearing the 130,000 donor mark, but w/o any of the 4 polls at 2% he’d have needed for Sept debate—a measure of how hard it is for any of the non-top tier candidates to break through, given he was the rare w/a direct argument for his candidacy
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) August 22, 2019
On MSNBC Wednesday night, Inslee said it was clear this was the right choice.
“I'm not going to be carrying the ball,” Inslee said in an interview. “I'm not going to be the President, so I'm withdrawing tonight.”
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