MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick dropped his presidential bid 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. Patrick came in second-to-last in New Hampshire on Tuesday with just over 1,200 votes.
“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.
His decision leaves just one other candidate of color, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Samoan American, in the Democratic contest. Patrick campaigned across the country, focusing some of his energy on South Carolina.
His campaign failed to catch fire, even after two other black candidates, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Sen. Kamala Harris, dropped out of the presidential race. He never qualified for any of the debates.