U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii ended her long-shot campaign to become the Democratic nominee for president in 2020. Gabbard took to Twitter on Thursday, as The Washington Post reported, and said she will support front-runner Joe Biden in the presidential race.
Gabbard had stuck with her campaign for far longer than many of her more popular competitors yet she never garnered enough support to be considered a real contender for the top spot. Still, she had continued to run despite being left out of the debates between the other Democratic hopefuls — including former Vice President Biden, the candidate she’s now endorsing.
“Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart, and he’s motivated by his love for our country and the American people. I’m confident that he will lead our country guided by the spirit of aloha, respect and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart,” Gabbard said in her announcement.
She added that knew Biden and appreciated her relationship with him and his family.
“I’m grateful to have called his son Beau a friend who also served in the National Guard,” she added.
Gabbard, who was born in American Samoa, announced last year that she wasn’t going to run for re-election to the House of Representatives.
On Thursday, Gabbard also expressed her appreciation for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders’ efforts to improve the lives of citizens in the country.
The 38-year-old Iraq War veteran ran on a platform of ending the wars in the Middle East, which she has referred to as “endless” conflicts. She has also been critical of the size of the United States’ military system.
“As a veteran of two Middle East deployments, I know firsthand the cost of war,” she said.
Gabbard suffered devastating defeats to her campaign early on, nabbing zero percent of the state delegates in Iowa. She received about 3.3 percent of the vote in New Hampshire.
She was also forced to address Hillary Clinton, whom she had called a war “hawk,” after Clinton suggested that Gabbard was being groomed to interfere in the 2020 elections and an aide added that Gabbard might be being groomed by the Russians. The accusations prompted Gabbard to sue Clinton.
When pushed on why she wasn’t as critical of Biden, who also supported the Iraq War initially, she said the former vice president had apologized for his vote.
Gabbard’s exit leaves Biden and Sanders competing for the Democratic nomination. The winner will then take on President Donald Trump in November.
