Elizabeth Warren to drop out of Democrat race
Elizabeth Warren plans to drop out of the race to be the Democrats’ presidential candidate, according to NBC News.
She is understood to be making the announcement later today.
It is unclear whether she will endorse either of the frontrunners, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
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The Massachusetts senator was hoping to be chosen as the candidate to take on Donald Trump in November’s US election.
She was seen as the most realistic prospect for a woman candidate being picked to take on the Republican president – who once derided her as “Pocahontas” over her Native American ancestry.
However, a terrible Super Tuesday showing in which she failed to win any of the 14 states and came third in her home state appears to have prompted her to bow out.
Her departure comes soon after Amy Klobuchar pulled out and leaves the party with just one female candidate: Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard, who has only collected only one delegate toward the nomination.
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Billionaire Michael Bloomberg also exited the raceon Wednesday – after spending a reported $500m of his own money – as the Democrat field continues to be whittled down.
Pete Buttigieg, America’s first openly gay major presidential candidate, withdrew on Monday.
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Hopes for Ms Warren’s campaign were initially very high.
She drew tens of thousands to Manhattan’s Washington Square Park last summer, a scene repeated in Washington state and Minnesota.
The 70-year-old called for “structural change” to the US political system to make the economy fairer and proposed a 2% wealth tax on households worth more than $50m.
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By autumn she was leading the Democrat pack, but as quickly as her status had elevated it started to fall away.
She struggled to take support from the party’s other top progressive, Bernie Sanders, with both backing policies such as government-sponsored healthcare for all and a “Green New Deal” to fight climate change.
Ms Warren also took a hit in the polls after debates in which she refused to say whether she would raise taxes on the middle class to pay for her health plan.
She tried to address the concerns by backing away from a full endorsement of Medicare for All, saying she would transition to the programme over three years.
However, that gave her rivals the ammo to label her a “flip-flopper” and her standing with Democrat progressives was diminished.
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