WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the last remaining African American candidate in a Democratic presidential field once defined by its diversity, ended his 2020 campaign Wednesday after his late bid failed to catch fire or resonate with voters.
“The vote in New Hampshire last night was not enough for us to create the practical win at the campaign’s back to go on to the next round of voting.” Patrick said in a statement.
Patrick came in second-to-last in New Hampshire on Tuesday with just over 1,200 votes, after ignoring Iowa and focusing most of his time and resources on the first primary. His decision leaves just one other candidate of color, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Samoan American, in the Democratic contest. It brings the number of Democrats in the presidential primary race to eight.
Patrick launched his bid for president in mid-November but failed to register in polling and fundraising and never made it onto a presidential debate stage. Patrick raised just $2.2 million in the final six weeks of last year, and while a super PAC created to support his bid committed nearly that much to advertising in the early primary states last month, Patrick still barely registered in New Hampshire. He blamed in part what he characterized as a media narrative created around his late entry in the race. “I’ve met many people on the campaign trail who lament how they wished I had entered the race sooner,” he said in a statement.
“We cannot keep mistaking media narratives for political outcomes. Political outcomes are entirely up to voters,” he said.