Beto O’Rourke, former Texas congressman, has officially dropped out of the presidential race as of Friday, November 1. While the breaking news announcement was widely reported by numerous media outlets, O’Rourke took to Twitter to personally explain why he’s stepping down.
O’Rourke said that he doesn’t plan on returning to Congress, or to run for any other political office in 2020, and thanked everyone who was part of his presidential run thus far. He tweeted, “Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively. In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.”
O’Rourke continued on with his message tweeting, “I am grateful to all the people who made up the heart and soul of this campaign. You were among the hundreds of thousands who made a donation, signed up to volunteer or spread the word about this campaign and our opportunity to help decide the election of our lifetime.”
To our 240,000 donors, our 77,000 volunteers, and everyone across the country who believed —
We’re proud of you, Team Beto. Keep fighting the good fight.
While the official Team Beto Twitter account also posted their gratitude and goodbye O’Rourke added, “Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act.
“Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act.”
O’Rourke Has Not Chosen A Presidential Candidate to Endorse in 2020
GettyBeto O’Rourke
As for who O’Rourke will endorse for President in 2020, he remains undecided. He tweeted, “We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I’m going to be proud to support whoever she or he is.”
O’Rourke’s final tweet to his 1.7 million followers read, “Thank you for making this campaign possible, and for continuing to believe that we can turn this moment of great peril into a moment of great promise for America and the world.”
Which Candidates Will Appear in the 5th Democratic Debate in November?
GettyDemocratic presidential candidates
With O’Rourke bowing out, the stage for the fifth national Democratic debate, which is set to take place on November 20, 2019, will look a little different. Hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post, it was already expected for there to be fewer presidential hopefuls participating, and for there to be only one night of debates.
From now on, there will be one debate every month until April 2020, which means there are six more Democratic debates to go. The requirements to qualify for the November debate are stricter than the ones held in September and October.
To qualify for November, candidates must poll at 3 percent or higher four qualifying state or national polls, or they must poll at 5 percent or higher in two qualifying state polls, with a deadline of one week before the debate. They must also receive donations from 165,000 unique donors, which must include 600 unique donors in 20 states.
Those expected to be in the November debate include Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Cory Booker, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamala Harris, and former tech executive Andrew Yang.
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