Sen. Cory Booker drops out of the 2020 presidential race less than a month before Iowa caucuses
- Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is dropping out of the 2020 race.
- Booker had struggled to make a dent in the polls and did not qualify for Tuesday's presidential primary debate ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
- "It's with a full heart that I share this news - I've made the hard decision to suspend my campaign for president," Booker said.
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Sen. Cory Booker on Monday announced he's dropping out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
"It's with a full heart that I share this news - I've made the hard decision to suspend my campaign for president," Booker said in a statement alongside a video that announced he's ending his campaign.
"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," Booker added.
In the video, Booker signaled he plans to continue campaigning in support of the eventual Democratic nominee, as well as for down-ballot candidates.
"And so now I recommit myself to the work. I can't wait to get back on the campaign trail and campaign as hard as I can for whoever is the eventual nominee and for candidates up and down the ballot," Booker said.
Booker also thanked his supporters.
"Campaigning over this last year has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. Meeting you, meeting people across this country who believe - who know - that we have challenges right now in our nation, but together we will rise," the senator said.
The New Jersey senator and former mayor of Newark ran on a message of optimism and unity amid a divisive era in US politics - including among the Democratic contenders on issues like health care.
"Together, we will channel our common pain back into our common purposes," Booker said a video announcing the launch of his campaign last year. "Together, America, we will rise."
Despite entering the race a more well-known politician many of the other candidates, Booker had struggled to make a dent in the polls and did not qualify for the December debate or Tuesday's debate ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Booker had garnered a reputation as a fierce advocate for criminal justice reform, and continued to speak passionately on the issue along the campaign trial. In Booker's first radio interview after kicking off his 2020 campaign back in February, he reiterated his calls for marijuana to be legalized at the federal level.
"We do not have equal justice under the law," he said at the time. "I believe in redemption."
During a debate in November, Booker quipped that he thought former Vice President Joe Bidenmight have been "high" when he'd voiced opposition to legalizing marijuana.
Though he's no longer running for president, Booker will continue to be active in US politics as a senator, including in Trump's impending impeachment trial.