Sen. Kamala Harris ended her 2020 presidential campaign on Tuesday.
The California Democrat told her senior staff of the decision Tuesday morning, and later sent an email to supporters.
“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,” Harris wrote in the email.
The senator, who struggled to energize her campaign in recent months, acknowledged that financial pressures led to her decision.
“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,” Harris wrote. “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,” Harris wrote.
Harris had been struggling with money for months. The campaign, in a bid to resuscitate her presidential hopes, turned all of its attention to Iowa in the fall, pledging to keep Harris in the state as much as possible and telling reporters that anything less than a third-place finish in the state would be a loss.
The high point of Harris’ campaign came during the first Democratic debate in June, when she confronted former Vice President Joe Biden on his past opposition to busing as a way to desegregate schools. The moment went viral, catapulting her in the polls and exposing a weakness in the vice president.
But the days after the moment, it was clear the confrontation did more harm than good, with Harris being accused of manufacturing a moment where there was little policy difference between she and the vice president.
Since that moment, Harris was on the decline, unable to sustain the momentum she had coming into the race.
