Sen. Kamala Harris Announces Withdrawal from Presidential Race

On Tuesday, Dec. 3, Sen. Kamala Harris, announced her withdrawal from the race to become the Democratic party’s nominee for the 2020 presidential election. The senator from California began the race among the top-tier of candidates, in the mix with former Vice President Joe Biden, and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Yet, Harris struggled to maintain the momentum she gained following a strong debate performance in June which caused her to peak at 15% voter support in national polls. As candidates like Biden, Warren, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s stock rose, Harris’s fell. Citing an inability to raise sufficient funds to power her campaign, Sen. Harris’s departure from the race came as a surprise to many. Harris is the latest of several candidates to remove themselves from the race, although the Democratic field remains crowded.

Sen. Kamala Harris had already qualified for the next Democratic debate, adding to the surprise resulting from her sudden withdrawal. Actually, her decision to leave the Democratic race comes before many candidates who are currently polling below her. Presently, there are five candidates still in the race who are polling below 1%. They include author Marianne Williamson, former Rep. John Delaney, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Michael Bennet, and former Gov. Deval Patrick. As the race continues, more candidates may drop out of the race as voters more deeply align themselves with candidates they view as viable.

Harris’s withdrawal raised questions from Sen. Cory Booker and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro about the future of diverse candidates in the Democratic primary race. Booker and Castro disparaged the Democratic National Committee for the changes made in the qualifying threshold for the December debate. Booker even received a surge in donations following Harris’s withdrawal. The senator from New Jersey issued a statement criticizing the newfound lack of diversity in the Democratic race, saying, “I don’t understand how we’ve gotten to this place where there’s more billionaires in the race than there are black people.” Booker is citing the campaigns of Tom Steyer and former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. However, neither Booker or Castro appear on track to qualify for the December debate.

As of Dec. 7, six candidates have qualified for the debate. They are Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer. The next Democratic debate will be held on Dec. 19 in Los Angeles, CA and will be the first to not feature Kamala Harris.