Washington Governor Jay Inslee has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race.
The Democrat revealed his decision on Wednesday night in an interview on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.
The 68-year-old had made fighting climate change the central theme of his short-lived presidential campaign.
‘It’s become clear I’m not going to carrying the ball. I’m not going to be President so I’m withdrawing from the race,’ he said.
‘I’ve been fighting climate change for 25 years and I’ve never been so confident of the ability of America … to move the ball.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee, 68, revealed on Wednesday that he was dropping out of the 2020 presidential race
‘I believe we are going to have a candidate to fight this battle. I’m inspired by the people I have met across this country.’
Inslee has kept the option of running for a third gubernatorial term open throughout his presidential campaign and said he would discuss his political plans on Thursday.
‘I need to go back to the state of Washington and talk about what I’m going to do in my future political career,’ Inslee said
He became the third Democrat to end his presidential bid after U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California pulled out of the primary last month followed by former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper last week.
While Inslee had qualified for the first two presidential debates this summer, he struggled to gain traction in the crowded Democratic field.
He was falling short of the requirements needed to appear on two high-profile stages next month: the third DNC debate in Houston and a CNN town hall focused on Inslee’s key issue of climate change.
He had recently hit one of the markers – 130,000 unique donors – but he had yet to reach two percent in any poll and would have needed to hit that level of support in four qualifying polls.
The 68-year-old had made fighting climate change the central theme of his short-lived presidential campaign. He pictured at the Iowa State Fair last week
Inslee is a former congressman and served as Democratic Governors Association chairman in 2018 when the party flipped seven Republican-held gubernatorial seats.
He kicked off his campaign in March in Seattle, standing in front of a blue-and-green campaign logo with an arc of the Earth, declaring climate change the nation’s most pressing issue.
Inslee was a champion for the clean energy industry in Congress and wrote a book on the topic. He’s pushed for state policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
On the day he announced his presidential bid, the state Senate passed a key piece of his legislative climate agenda – a measure that seeks to eliminate fossil fuels like natural gas and coal from the state’s electricity supply by 2045.
The measure, later passed by the House and signed by Inslee in May, made Washington the fourth in the nation to establish a mandate to provide carbon-free electricity by a targeted date. A few additional states have enacted legislation related to clean energy requirements since May, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In addition to pushing for a dedicated debate on climate change, Inslee’s campaign has been rolling out climate proposals, including calling for the nation’s entire electrical grid and all new vehicles and buildings to be carbon pollution free by 2030. He’s also proposed a clean break between the federal government and the fossil fuel industry, ending tax breaks for oil companies and banning all drilling and extraction on federal lands and beneath federal waters.
While Inslee (second from right) had qualified for the first two presidential debates this summer, he struggled to gain traction in the crowded Democratic field
Inslee released his sixth and final climate proposal, a plan focused on agriculture and farmers, hours before he announced he was dropping out of the race.
In a video released Tuesday on Twitter, Inslee thanked supporters for helping him pass the 130,000 individual donor mark.
‘Together we have put the climate crisis front and center in the 2020 race,’ he said. ‘And thanks to you, every candidate knows they have to have a robust plan to defeat the climate crisis.’
Inslee didn’t say whether he planned to seek a third term as governor.
Governors in Washington state aren’t subject to term limits, though most haven’t served more than two terms. The last three-term governor in Washington was Republican Gov. Dan Evans, who served from 1965 until 1977.
While the filing deadline for the state’s 2020 elections isn’t until next May, three Democrats have already signaled they will run for governor if Inslee doesn’t: Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and King County Executive Dow Constantine.
The political dominos continue with Democratic candidates lining up to run for attorney general and lands commissioner if Ferguson and Franz end up not seeking reelection to their posts.
A few Republicans have already announced plans to run for governor, including Phil Fortunato, a state senator, and Loren Culp, the police chief of Republic, in eastern Washington. A Republican has not occupied the governor’s office in more than three decades.