Jim Webb Officially Drops Out of Democratic Race for President

Democratic presidential contender former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb announced that he is dropping out of the 2016 presidential race — for now.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Webb formally announced that he is "stepping aside from the Democratic Party primary." Webb also slammed the dual-party system and alluded to the possibility of running for the presidency in the future as an independent.

"As of today I'm not involved in the Democratic Party's primary process," Webb said.

Democratic presidential candidate former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb listens during the CNN Democratic presidential debate Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

"It's time for a new Declaration of Independence" from the two parties, Webb also said Tuesday afternoon.

Webb said he believed that if he ran a successful campaign as an independent, he could beat Clinton and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump if they were the two parties' nominees. He said he did not see himself endorsing anyone else at this point in time.

Webb also criticized the "hierarchy" of the Democratic National Committee and said it had been very difficult in the Democratic primary process "because of the dominance of one candidate" — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The former senator refused to confirm if he still considered himself a Democrat.

"We'll have to think about that," Webb said.

According to Politico, Webb's Democratic presidential campaign has struggled financially. His recent filing statement shows he garnered just under $697,000 and had less than $317,000 on hand — less than what Harvard professor Larry Lessig has brought in. Lessig did not qualify for the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas last week.

In comparison, Clinton's campaign brought in nearly $30 million and had $25.7 million on hand during that same period.

This story has been updated with Webb's official announcement.