Sen. Elizabeth Warren is suspending her presidential campaign, a source familiar with the decision tells NBC News, a bitter blow for a senator who was long seen by prominent Democrats as headed for the White House.
It is unclear whether Warren will endorse another Democratic candidate for president.
Warren announced her decision in a phone call with campaign staff Thursday morning in which she expressed disappointment, but thanked them “from the bottom of my heart” for what they were able to accomplish.
“What we have done — and the ideas we have launched into the world, the way we have fought this fight, the relationships we have built — will carry through, carry through for the rest of this election, and the one after that, and the one after that,” Warren said, according to a transcript of the call provided by her campaign.
The campaign proved that grassroots organizing and fundraising are possible in a presidential race and brought several substantive policy proposals to the fore, including a wealth tax, universal child care and canceling student loan debt, Warren said.
“I may not be in the race for president in 2020, but this fight — our fight — is not over,” Warren said. “And our place in this fight has not ended.”
Her decision, which comes after a poor “Super Tuesday” showing in which Warren failed to win any states, ends a frantic year of campaigning for a candidate who branded herself as a progressive fighter from humble beginnings who was ready to take on a broken and corrupt system.
The Massachusetts Democrat wowed crowds with her sharp intellect, her clear prognoses for complex problems, and her endless stream of policy blueprints to tackle them. After a long polling rise over summer that continued into the fall, it was clear Warren’s message was catching on, and she rose to the front of the pack in some polls while avoiding conflict with rivals. In late summer, she drew massive crowds of about 15,000 in Seattle and 20,000 in Washington Square Park in New York.
The plan was working. Then it all started to fall apart.
Buh…Bye!
She quits a race, again…