Kamala Harris ends quest for 2020 US presidential bid

California Senator Kamala Harris on Tuesday became the latest Democrat to withdraw from the 2020 presidential race when she announced that she was suspending her campaign, marking the end of her bid for the top post that saw her poll numbers plummeting and fundraising performances drying up.

Two campaign aides confirmed to The Hill that Harris was ending her campaign.

"To my supporters, it is with deep regret--but also with deep gratitude--that I am suspending my campaign today. But I want to be clear with you: I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for the People. All the people," Harris, whose is of mixed Indian and African heritage, tweeted.

 

Harris, who officially announced her candidacy for the US president in next year's election in January this year, was seen as a front-runner for the top post even before beginning her campaign with a massive public gathering in her hometown Oakland in California.

However, she struggled to convert the early enthusiasm into a proper and sustained movement for the presidency and was criticised for her inability to articulate a vision on issues like healthcare, The Hill reported.

Harris' polling charts soared when she took on former Vice President Joe Biden in the first Democratic presidential debate in June. Since then, her campaign failed to gain traction and her polling numbers continued to sink.

As funding dried up, the 55-year-old laid off staff, including her entire New Hampshire operation. She dispatched several top aides to Iowa where she spent Thanksgiving Day with the supporters.

In recent weeks, there were reports of rising tensions between rival factions in the Baltimore-based campaign. Harris' sister, Maya Harris, a veteran Democratic policy expert, sparred with campaign manager Juan Rodriguez over staffing, spending and policy decisions.

In the last debate, Harris confronted with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, another Democratic presidential hopeful.