Democratic presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard ended her 2020 campaign on Thursday and said she will support Joe Biden for the party’s nomination.
The Hawaii congresswoman said Super Tuesday’s primary results showed that Democratic primary voters have chosen former vice president Joe Biden to take on President Trump in the general election.
“I know Vice President Biden and his wife and am grateful to have called his son Beau, who also served in the National Guard, a friend,” Gabbard wrote in a letter to supporters. “Although I may not agree with the Vice President on every issue, I know that he has a good heart and is 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, 38, announced her presidential bid in January of last year and remained in the race in recent weeks despite anemic polling numbers, disappointing results in most of the state primaries so far, and a failure to qualify for several of the recent Democratic debates.
Biden regained his front runner status over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, his sole Democratic challenger left in the race, after sweeping southern states on Southern Tuesday. The former vice president went on to win several other state primary elections, including Florida, Illinois, and Arizona on Tuesday.
Gabbard added a word of encouragement to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic that continues to spread in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and three U.S. territories and which has bludgeoned large sectors of the economy.
“Our nation is facing an unprecedented global crisis that highlights the inextricable bonds of humanity, and how foreign policy and domestic policy are inseparable. We are all in this together and we must all rise to meet this moment — in service to our country and our fellow man,” she said.