ABOVE: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has dropped her bid for the 2020 election. (Photo courtesy of CNN)
Sen. Kamala Harris, once on the trajectory to become front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has dropped her bid to run for the White House in 2020.
The California Democrat made it official Dec. 3 with an email to supporters saying her campaign lacks the financial resources to continue.
“In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do,” Harris writes. “So, to you my supporters, it is with deep regret — but also with deep gratitude — that I am suspending my campaign today.”
According to CNN, Harris informed her staff Tuesday morning before the email was sent out that she’ll discontinue her presidential campaign and had planned an announcement later in the day.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Blade, Harris — who was born five years before the 1969 Stonewall riots — said she never needed an epiphany to discover LGBTQ people were OK.
“I grew up in a community and a culture where everyone was accepted for who they were, so there wasn’t a moment where it was like, ‘OK, now let’s let this person in.’ Everyone was a part of everything. It was about community,” Harris said. “It was about coalition building. It was about equality, inclusion. I mean, I had an uncle who was gay.”
Equality California released this statement from Executive Director Rick Zbur:
“Kamala Harris has dedicated her life to fighting for the people. From the battle for marriage equality to the struggle for safety and justice for our transgender friends and family, Kamala has always been on the front lines our movement, standing shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community. She’s had our back when we needed it most, and we’ll always have hers.”
