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Gov. Jay Inslee drops out of 2020 presidential race
Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Gov. Jay Inslee drops out of 2020 presidential race

His climate-focused campaign was short-lived

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he's giving up on his 2020 White House bid. The Democratic presidential candidate made the announcement Wednesday night while appearing on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show."

What are the details?

Inslee — who made climate change the primary focus of his campaign — told Maddow, "It's become clear that I'm not going to be carrying the ball. I'm not going to be the president, so I'm withdrawing tonight from the race."

The Washington Post reported that Inslee "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 climate change, Inslee's key issue." While the Washington Democrat announced just this week that he had met the requirement of reaching 130,000 individual donors, NBC News noted "his lack of qualifying polls would likely have kept him from the debate stage."

Inslee reportedly ended his exit email to supporters with the words, "So early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and organize. Together we will continue the fight to defeat the climate crisis."

Although Inslee did not reveal his future plans on MSNBC, he has maintained the option of running for a third term as governor.

Gov. Inslee is the third Democratic candidate to drop out of the crowded field, following Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Anything else?

Following Inslee's announcement, several remaining Democratic presidential candidates praised him on Twitter for his work on climate change, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.).

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