Jan 31, 2020 - Politics & Policy

John Delaney drops out of 2020 presidential race

John Delaney. Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) announced Friday that he was dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.

The big picture: Delaney was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy in the 2020 election, yet failed to establish himself once the field grew. In July, Axios reported that Delaney's staff had asked him to drop out, suggesting he wasn't spending enough money to run a competitive race and had flopped at the first debate.

  • At the time, Delaney denied the accusations, stating he had "no plans to drop out of the race."
  • He failed to qualify for later debates — benchmarks largely seen as a make-or-break moments for campaigns.
  • Questioned by Medium in December as to why he was still in the race, Delaney said his plan was "to do well in Iowa, and send a message that a candidate that actually focuses on rural Iowa, and focuses on campaigning in people’s living rooms and in coffee shops, still matters."

The state of play: The campaign said in the announcement that Delaney had decided to drop out after concluding that he would not reach the 15% viability threshold across much of Iowa — but still had enough support to hurt other moderate candidates.

What he's saying:

"Let’s stop the nonsense of unrealistic and divisive campaign promises and be the party the American people need — a decent, unifying, future-focused and common-sense party. And please don’t listen to the cynics, the naysayers and the dividers; while we have significant challenges and too many Americans are struggling, the world gets better every year and the United States of America has driven much of this progress — let’s keep it that way."

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Cory Booker drops out of the 2020 presidential race

Cory Booker. Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) announced Monday that he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.

The big picture: Although Booker was seen as a rising star in Democratic politics, he struggled to shine in the 2020 race. In recent weeks, he focused his ire on the dwindling diversity in the Democratic field, saying in December that the race had "more billionaires than black people" after Kamala Harris' departure.

Go deeperArrowJan 13, 2020

Marianne Williamson ends 2020 presidential campaign

Marianne Williamson. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Author Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign announced on Friday that she has dropped out of the 2020 race.

The big picture: Williamson, a Democrat, was considered an outlier in a field mostly comprised of longtime politicians. She built her career as a spiritual guru and never held public office. Despite penning 13 books, four of which were New York Times bestsellers, she came into the race with little political name recognition compared to her competitors.

Go deeperArrowJan 10, 2020

Booker leads 2020 candidates in missed votes amid presidential bid

Data: Quorum; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has missed more votes than any other member of Congress running for president, according to data from Quorum.

The big picture: The New Jersey lawmaker's campaign has failed to gain traction, and he did not qualify for the December debate due to low polling. He has not yet qualified for the January debate either. Booker has previously warned that insufficient fundraising could cause him to drop out of the race.

Go deeperArrowJan 9, 2020