Deval Patrick Drops Out After Short Leap Into 2020 Race

(Bloomberg) -- Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick dropped his presidential bid on Wednesday, just three months after entering the Democratic race.

Patrick, who resigned his post as a managing director at Bain Capital LP to join the race, left the 2020 campaign trail after failing to secure 1% of the vote in the primary in New Hampshire, which borders Massachusetts.

“The vote in New Hampshire last night was not enough for us to create the practical wind at the campaign’s back to go on to the next round of voting,” Patrick said in a statement released by his campaign. “So I have decided to suspend the campaign, effective immediately.”

His withdrawal winnows the Democratic field to eight candidates after Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet pulled out after poor performances in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

Patrick was the last remaining black candidate in the race after New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Senator Kamala Harris dropped out.

He campaigned across the country, focusing some of his energy on South Carolina, where he hoped to cut into Joe Biden’s support among African Americans. But his campaign never caught fire and he didn’t qualify for any of the presidential debates.

To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Benjaminson in Manchester, New Hampshire at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Magan Crane, Max Berley

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