US SENATOR CORY Booker has dropped out of the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee in the upcoming US elections.
The announcement from the New Jersey senator comes almost a year after he threw his hat into the ring, but follows a campaign which failed to see him make any gains, constantly polling in the low single digits.
In a post on Twitter, he said: “It’s with a full heart that I share this news – I’m suspending my campaign for president.
“To my team, supporters, and everyone who gave me a shot—thank you. I am so proud of what we built, and I feel nothing but faith in what we can accomplish together.”
“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,” Booker said.
Former Vice President to Barack Obama, Joe Biden remains the frontrunner to take the nomination, just slightly ahead of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton saw off competition from Sanders in the 2016 race, taking the Democratic nomination but losing out on the presidency to Donald Trump.
In a statement to supporter, Booker said he is ready and willing to campaign on behalf of the Democratic nominee.
California senator Kamala Harris last month announced she was withdrawing her candidacy from the race.
Harris was one of the biggest names to date to drop out of the race, along with former congressman Beto O’Rourke of Texas and New York mayor Bill de Blasio.
She rocketed toward the top of the field with a promising campaign launch in January, but saw her prospects slide in recent months as she struggled to define her positions on various domestic issues including health care.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say