Tulsi Gabbard has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race after running a controversial, bizarre campaign

• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has dropped out of the 2020 race.
• Gabbard announced she was bowing out on Thursday, and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.
• The Hawaii Democrat ran a controversial campaign that often put her at odds with her fellow candidates and the Democratic party in general.
• Gabbard harbored unorthodox foreign policy views and has frequently appeared on Fox News.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has dropped out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

In an email to supporters, Gabbard said, "I owe you an incredible debt of gratitude for all you've done as the heart and soul of our people-powered campaign: Today, I've made the decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency."

The Hawaii Democrat went on to say she's offering her "full support to Vice President Joe Biden in his quest to bring our country together."

Gabbard was never considered to be a top-tier candidate, but stayed in the race far longer than several other candidates who fared far better than her on virtually every level.

Over the past several years, Gabbard has transitioned from rising progressive star to a gadfly of the Democratic party.

Gabbard launched her campaign with an anti-war speech that decried members of "both parties who never tire of war." Along the campaign trail, Gabbard frequently faced criticism over her unorthodox foreign policy views and has been widely accused of behaving as an apologist for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with whom she had a controversial meeting in 2017.

The Hawaii lawmaker has made frequent appearances on Fox News, often lobbing criticism at her own party, which at times led to attacks from other 2020 Democrats.

Much of the attention Gabbard received over the course of her campaign came via the attacks she faced from people with higher profiles or from moves that went against the rest of her party.

Gabbard, for example, in December sparked outrage after voting "present" for the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, while the vast majority of Democratic lawmakers voted to approve both.

She also had a headline-generating spat with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last fall.

In an October interview, Clinton described Gabbard as a "favorite of the Russians." She added: "They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far."

Clinton also suggested that Republicans were "grooming" Gabbard to be a third-party candidate. Gabbard responded by referring to Clinton as "the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long."

Gabbard announced last October that she would not run for reelection for Congress in order to focus on her presidential campaign.