U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., announced on Monday morning that he would suspend his presidential campaign. The Democratic presidential field that started out with 28 candidates is now whittled down to 12, three weeks out from the Iowa Caucus on February 3, 2020.
“It was a difficult decision to make, but I got in this race to win, and I’ve always said I wouldn’t continue if there was no longer a path to victory,” he said in a message to supporters.
“Our campaign has reached the point where we need more money to scale up and continue building a campaign that can win — money we don’t have, and money that is harder to raise because I won’t be on the next debate stage and because the urgent business of impeachment will rightly be keeping me in Washington,” Booker, 50, added.
Spending almost one year running for president, Booker broke beyond single digits in national or early state polling. He failed to qualify for his second consecutive presidential debate. He also lagged behind in fundraising, reporting raising just over $18 million after the third quarter in 2019.
He is also up for re-election in the U.S. Senate this year and he currently enjoys favorable approval ratings in New Jersey.