By PoliZette Staff | November 1, 2019

He’s out of the race.

And he’s not expected to run for any other office next year, either.

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas announced on Friday that he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, The New York Times and other outlets reported.

This ends a campaign “in which he struggled to recapture the energy of his insurgent 2018 Senate candidacy on a national stage full of other big personalities and liberal champions,” as The Times also noted.

O’Rourke — according to those “familiar with his thinking” — made the decision to quit the race in the middle of this week, just ahead of a gathering on Friday of Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa, said The Times.

“My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee,” O’Rourke wrote on Friday.

He also said that “though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully,” as he wrote in a piece on Medium.

He shared these thoughts as well:

We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I’m going to be proud to support whoever she or he is.

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) November 1, 2019

O’Rourke’s fundraising had slowed, according to Raw Story. And while his “passionate speeches after the El Paso shooting helped revitalize his campaign,” that same outlet said, “it was apparently not enough to stay in the race. If he doesn’t run for another office he could move on as an advocate for gun safety issues.”

His controversial stance on guns included the commentary that Americans who didn’t comply with his gun control policies, including confiscation, would face “consequences” from law enforcement.

President Donald Trump caught the news — and tweeted his own message:

Oh no, Beto just dropped out of race for President despite him saying he was “born for this.” I don’t think so!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2019

See these other tweets — and share your thoughts.

#BREAKING: Beto is outhttps://t.co/mdtNkaMdY5

— Raw Story (@RawStory) November 1, 2019

Breaking News: Beto O’Rourke, once seen as a potential 2020 front-runner, is ending his White House bid. Aides say the former Texas congressman will not run for the Senate. https://t.co/Pf5vfFvIEM

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 1, 2019

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1190381542054547456

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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