Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) will reportedly be the next candidate to drop out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
The New York Times reports that the senator will announce later today that she is dropping out of the race after a poor showing in the Super Tuesday primaries.
Related: Elizabeth Warren was asked who’d be her Mike Pence: “I already have a dog”
It is not known who she will endorse in the primary. The only major candidates left in the race are former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) also remains, but isn’t viable.
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Warren’s campaign was marked by her policy prowess, dropping detailed policy plans on a number of issues including LGBTQ equality. The plans not only showed her deep understanding of the issues, but established her as one of the more progressive candidates in the primary.
But that didn’t translate into enough support. She got between third and fifth place in the primaries that occurred before Super Tuesday and didn’t win any states on Super Tuesday. Warren even got third place in her home state of Massachusetts, behind Biden and Sanders.
Both Sanders’ and Biden’s campaigns have reportedly called her asking for an endorsement. With Warren dropping out, the primary is effectively a two-way race between them.
Warren was an early favorite among LGBTQ voters. A November YouGov/Out poll found that LGBTQ voters preferred her over all the other candidates.
But by February, polls were showing that LGBTQ people preferred Sanders, and 42% of LGBTQ voters supported Sanders on Super Tuesday, according to NBC News’s exit poll, well above the 22% support Warren got.
During her campaign, Warren shined when it came to LGBTQ equality. During the CNN/HRC LGBTQ Town Hall in October, she was asked what she would say to someone who doesn’t support marriage equality.
“Well, I’m going to assume it’s a guy who said that and I’m going to say, ‘Then just marry one woman. I’m cool with that,’” she responded.
“Assuming you can find one,” she added, getting applause and laughter.
At a debate last month, she brought attention to anti-LGBTQ and misogynist comments from Michael Bloomberg, the former Republican Mayor of New York City, where he referred to a woman as a “horse-faced lesbian” and a man as a “f*g.” Her debate performance helped bring down Bloomberg’s rising star and he dropped out of the primary race yesterday.
And Warren even called a gay man who donated $3 to her campaign last year to thank him.
“You’ve got a good guy here for a boyfriend,” she told his boyfriend after the $3 donor ran to get him on the phone.
Commentators have already noted that Warren’s exit makes the primary field much less diverse.
The largest, most diverse presidential field in American history has winnowed down to a 77-year-old straight white man, a 78-year-old straight white man, and Tulsi Gabbard.
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) March 5, 2020
