WASHINGTON — Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, telling supporters in an email Tuesday that her campaign “simply doesn't have the financial resources we need to continue.”
A senior campaign aide said Harris made the decision Monday after discussing the path forward with family and other top officials over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Politico reports the senator informed her staff on a phone call. The news comes shortly after the campaign canceled a big-money fundraiser in New York scheduled for Tuesday evening and a recent staff shakeup.
"To my supporters, it is with deep regret—but also with deep gratitude—that I am suspending my campaign today," Harris wrote in a post on Medium.
"But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight.
And I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for The People. All the people."
Her withdrawal marked a dramatic fall for a candidate who showed extraordinary promise in her bid to become the first black female president.
Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, posted a photo of the two of them embracing in response.
"I've got you. As always," the tweet read.
Her departure erodes the diversity of the Democratic field, whose top tier is white and mostly male.
Fellow Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg recently hired a top staff member from Harris' campaign.
His campaign spokespeople said last week that Kelly Mehlenbacher has joined as deputy chief operating officer. She had been working for California Sen. Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. She previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid.
Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City mayor, entered the race recently and has begun spending tens of millions of dollars on television ads.