Rep. Seth Moulton is dropping out of the 2020 race </s> Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) will announce Friday that he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race during an address at the DNC's summer meeting in San Francisco.

The big picture: Moulton launched an unlikely campaign focused on his centrist policies and military experience. His exit further winnows a crowded Democratic field — made smaller in the past week by the withdrawals of John Hickenlooper and Jay Inslee — and he told the New York Times that he sees "a three-way race" between Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders "about how far left the party should go." </s> In a move that will surprise few who have followed his campaign, Seth Moulton dropped out of the race for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination on Friday. Others, however, may be surprised to learn someone named Seth Moulton was running for president.

The Massachusetts congressman spent little time in Iowa after declaring his candidacy on April 22. He never held a campaign event in Iowa City. He visited Cedar Rapids once, speaking at Progress Iowa’s Corn Feed on July 14. He wasn’t alone that day; 11 other Democratic presidential candidates spoke at the event.

Despite serving four years in Congress, Moulton was virtually unknown outside of Massachusetts when he launched his campaign for president. Moulton’s one moment in the national spotlight came in early 2018, when he led a failed attempt by conservative Democrats congressmen to prevent Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker of the House.

In the most recent Iowa Poll, Moulton was at 0 percent.

The congressman apparently feels that timing was a major problem in his presidential bid, telling the New York Times on Friday that waiting until April to launch his campaign “was a bigger handicap than I expected.”

Throughout his brief campaign, Moulton repeatedly warned his fellow Democrats against embracing major reforms and big government programs. He did the same in his exit interview with the Times.

“I’ve always said that veering too far left could result in us losing this election, and that Trump will be harder to beat than most people think,” Moulton said.

Moulton, who has decided to run for reelection to Congress, said he has no current plans to endorse another presidential candidate. </s> WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Seth Moulton, who mounted a long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Friday, warning that the party must now decide how far left it wants to move.

“But today, I want to use this opportunity … to announce that I am ending my campaign for president,” Moulton was to say at a speech before a Democratic National Committee meeting in San Francisco, according to remarks provided by his campaign.

“Though this campaign is not ending the way we hoped, I am leaving this race knowing that we raised issues that are vitally important to the American people and our future.”

Moulton, a 40-year-old Iraq War veteran who represents a district in Massachusetts, failed to garner the support he needed to qualify for the Democratic debates. Without appearing in the debates, he had little hope of gaining traction.

Moulton stopped short of endorsing one of his rivals for the nomination, but said the race appears to have narrowed.

“I think it’s evident that this is now a three-way race between (former Vice President Joe) Biden, (U.S. Senator Elizabeth) Warren and (U.S. Senator Bernie) Sanders, and really it’s a debate about how far left the party should go,” Moulton told the New York Times in an interview ahead of his announcement.

He built a political career by challenging the party’s establishment including after the Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in g2018, when Moulton helped organize opposition to Representative Nancy Pelosi’s bid to again become speaker of the House. He failed at that effort. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis) </s> Seth Moulton ends presidential campaign

Moulton is the third candidate to drop out in the past eight days; insiders expect the field to be culled even further in the coming weeks. </s> Seth Moulton ended his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary nomination.

The Massachusetts congressman announced he would instead seek reelection in his home state, addressing members of the Democratic National Convention its annual summer meeting Friday. Moulton’s primary bid ended four months after it began, but experiences along the campaign trail left the Marine Corps veteran inspired, he said.

“I find hope here in this room, and in rooms like it across America, where Democrats are banding together—despite all of our differences—to beat Donald Trump,” Moulton said. “That hope is what gets us, as individuals, through the darkest of times. And it is what will lead our country through the darkest of times as well.”

Moulton struggled to meet criteria set by the DNC to participate in its third primary debate. He neither earned 130,000 individual donations nor gained 2% support in national polls.

The crowded field of Democrats is slimming down. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee dropped out, preceeded by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.

Candidates have until Aug. 29 to qualify for the next debate, scheduled for Sept. 12 and 13 in Houston. Each Democrat who dropped out cited the higher debate threshold while ending their campaign.

Several of Moulton’s competitors praised him as an “American hero” for highlighting veterans issues on the campaign trail. Before serving in Congress, he served four tours in the Iraq War.

“I will be campaigning my ass off for whoever wins our nomination in 2020,” Moulton said. </s> (CNN) — Rep. Seth Moulton will end his presidential bid on Friday during a speech at the Democratic National Committee summer meeting in San Francisco, according to prepared remarks of the speech the Massachusetts Democrat plans to deliver.

The decision closes out a campaign in which the candidate failed to get traction or make this year’s Democratic debates.

“Today, I want to use this opportunity, with all of you here, to announce that I am ending my campaign for president,” Moulton plans to tell the DNC meeting. “Though this campaign is not ending the way we hoped, I am leaving this race knowing that we raised issues that are vitally important to the American people and our future.”

Moulton, a Marine veteran and three-term congressman who represents Boston’s northern suburbs, will tell the audience that he plans to run for reelection to Congress and relaunch Serve America, a PAC that looks to elect Democrats with service backgrounds.

“I will continue to fight for a new generation of leadership in our party and our country,” he plans to say. “And ​most of all, I will be ​campaigning my ass off​ for whoever wins our nomination in 2020.”

Moulton entered the race later than most — in late April — and failed to catch on with more than 20 Democrats vying to take on President Donald Trump.

The congressman failed to register in national or statewide polls and did not garner the needed fundraising to qualify for either the June or July Democratic debates.

Moulton centered his bid on his personal military service and traveled the country to talk about his plan to incentivize national service at events during which the congressman personally did a service project. Moulton had hoped that his focus on national security and service would set him apart in the large Democratic field, but the congressman was boxed out by other military veterans — namely Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Moulton has told staff and friends that he plans to continue pushing the Democratic Party on issues that motivated his campaign, like issues facing veterans, the need to incentivize national service and the importance of a comprehensive strategy around national defense.

Those efforts will commence on Monday when Moulton hosts a town hall for veterans in Fairfax, Virginia, alongside General Stanley McChrystal, a military leader who endorsed Moulton’s 2020 bid.

Aides to the congressman said they hope that he could be in line for a host of administration posts, should a Democrat in the White House in 2020, including secretary of veterans affairs, defense secretary and United Nations ambassador.

Moulton is the latest Democratic candidate to get out of the 2020 race, following California Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. </s> WASHINGTON _ Rep. Seth Moulton is dropping out of the presidential race, his campaign spokesman said Friday, after a brief campaign that never left the ground.

Moulton plans to formally announce his departure from the crowded field at the Democratic National Committee meeting in San Francisco on Friday. Campaign spokesman Matt Corridoni confirmed Moulton was leaving the race.

"Although it might not have been Seth's year, he leaves the race with an enhanced national profile, having proved himself to be a next-generation foreign policy leader in the Democratic Party who has broad appeal," Corridoni said.

The Massachusetts congressman failed to qualify for any of the three Democratic presidential debates based on polling and fund-raising numbers.

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Washington Governor Jay Inslee both dropped out this week. Their departures were preceded by Representative Eric Swalwell of California. Hickenlooper is pursuing a Senate seat, while Inslee and Swalwell are seeking re-election.

Moulton is an Iraq War veteran and focused his campaign on national security issues. That earned him the endorsement of retired General Stanley McChrystal, who led U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

But his lack of national name recognition, having only been in the House since 2015, and focus on foreign policy made it difficult for him to ever consistently poll at 1%.

Moulton, 40, raised $1.2 million in the second quarter. He officially entered the race in April.

On Aug. 7, the Washington Post reported Moulton was laying off at least half of his staff of 30. The move came a day after a Boston Globe poll found he had 0% support in New Hampshire, an important primary state and neighbor to his home of Massachusetts.

PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Representative Seth Moulton, who mounted a long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Friday, warning that the party must now decide how far left it wants to move.

“Today, I want to use this opportunity ... to announce that I am ending my campaign for president,” Moulton will say at a speech before the Democratic National Committee meeting in San Francisco, according to remarks provided by his campaign.

“Though this campaign is not ending the way we hoped, I am leaving this race knowing that we raised issues that are vitally important to the American people and our future.”

Moulton, a 40-year-old Iraq War veteran who plans to seek re-election to the district he represents in Massachusetts, failed to garner the support he needed to qualify for any of debates. Without appearing in those nationally televised events, he had little hope of gaining traction.

He is the third Democrat to end a presidential campaign this month. Washington Governor Jay Inslee dropped out of the race earlier this week, and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper did so the week before.

Moulton stopped short of endorsing one of his rivals for the nomination but said the crowded race with more than 20 Democrats appeared to have narrowed. The nominee will take on President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, in November 2020.

“I think it’s evident that this is now a three-way race between (former Vice President Joe) Biden, (U.S. Senator Elizabeth) Warren and (U.S. Senator Bernie) Sanders, and really it’s a debate about how far left the party should go,” Moulton told the New York Times in an interview ahead of his announcement.

Biden represents the more centrist faction of the Democratic Party, while Warren, of Massachusetts, and Sanders, of Vermont, back more liberal policies.

Other Democrats who fail to qualify for the third debate, which will be held on Sept. 12-13 in Houston, may also feel pressure to exit the race. Candidates must have at least 130,000 unique donors and reach 2% in four opinion polls by Aug. 28 to qualify.

Those who have yet to qualify include U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado and Montana Governor Steve Bullock.

Moulton built his political career by challenging the party’s establishment. After the Democrats regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, Moulton helped organize opposition to Representative Nancy Pelosi’s bid to again become speaker of the House. He failed at that effort.

He used his presidential campaign to draw attention to veterans issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and access to healthcare.
U.S. Representative for Massachusetts Seth Moulton announces his suspension of his 2020 presidential campaign.