Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ends struggling campaign, backs ex-VP Joe Biden
WASHINGTON – Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the House of Representatives and the Hawaii National Guard, has ended her presidential campaign.
In a video message on Thursday, Gabbard said she’d be supporting former Vice President Joe Biden in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“After Tuesday’s election, it is clear that Democratic Primary voters have chosen Vice President Joe Biden to be the person who will take on President Trump in the general election,” she said.
During her time as a candidate, Gabbard struggled to capture attention in a field that included higher-profile contenders and placed distantly in early primary states. At times she had to deal with the remnants of the 2016 election, in which she endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders and abandoned a post with the Democratic Party over concerns about its impartiality.
Gabbard had spent much of the beginning of the year campaigning in New Hampshire, which has a notorious independent streak and where voters went to the polls on Feb 11. She finished seventh in the Granite State.
The Hawaii congresswoman went on to win two delegates on Super Tuesday in the American Samoa Democratic caucuses. Throughout the campaign she spent $5.3 million, with $2.9 million in ads on Facebook and Google, according to Advertising Analytics.
Gabbard filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton in January in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan for defamation after Clinton appeared to call Gabbard “a favorite of the Russians” last year.
In the lawsuit, Gabbard claims that Clinton made her remarks as “retribution” for the Hawaii congresswoman endorsing Sanders over Clinton in 2016. During the Thursday video message, Gabbard extended her best wishes to Sanders, his wife Jane, members of his campaign and his supporters “for the work they’ve done.” Sanders is trailing Biden in Democratic delegates.
“I have a great appreciation for Sen. Sanders’ love for our country and the American people and his sincere desire to improve the lives of all Americans,” she said. Gabbard, who has represented Hawaii in the House since 2013, announced her presidential campaign in February 2019.