John Delaney drops out of Democratic primary ahead of Iowa caucuses
He was the first Democrat to enter the 2020 race
Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney ended his long-shot bid to become the Democratic presidential candidate just days before the Iowa caucuses.
Delaney launched his campaign in July 2017, the first Democrat to enter the 2020 race, but has continued to languish in nationwide polls. According to an aggregate of polls, Delaney, with less than 1 percent of the vote, is in twelfth place nationally.
In an emailed statement, Delaney's campaign cited an internal analysis that suggested he would not meet the necessary thresholds to participate in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, and that he didn't want to detract from other moderate Democrats.
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"John does not want the good work of his campaign to make it harder for those like-minded candidates on the bubble of viability in many Iowa precincts to advance in the Iowa caucuses and garner delegates," his campaign said in a news release.
Although Delaney, a wealthy businessman who self-funded his White House bid, hinged his campaign on support from Iowa — over the past 100 days, he held 268 events in the state, more than any other Democratic candidate — he failed to gain traction among voters.
During debates, Delaney sought to differentiate himself from progressive frontrunners Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, particularly on the issue of Medicare-for-all, which he derided as "fairy tale economics.”
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“I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for. I don’t get it,” Warren shot back at one point.
Delaney failed to qualify for subsequent debates.
Though he did not say whether he intends to endorse another candidate, he appeared to take a parting shot at Warren and Sanders.
"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," he said.
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