2020 Dems Rally Behind Jay Inslee Following His Decision to Drop Presidential Bid

Inslee
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Many 2020 Democrat candidates rallied behind Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) following his decision to drop out of the presidential race Wednesday evening.

Inslee announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show Wednesday night.

“This show has been so good to me, this is sort of the bookends of my campaign,” Inslee, who built his campaign on the climate change “crisis,” said.

“We started saying climate change had to be the number one job in the United States. I felt good saying that the first days of my campaign. I feel very good saying that now,” he added.

He continued:

And the reason is, this has become more urgent. A billion tons of ice melted in Greenland the other day. But we’ve also had so many people I’ve met who are inspiring, who want us to act, who have helped me. We had 130,000 people help me in this campaign. But it’s become clear that I’m not going to be carrying the ball, I’m not going to be president. So I’m withdrawing, tonight, from the race. But I have to tell you, look — I’ve been fighting climate change for 25 years, and I’ve never been so confident of the ability of America now to reach critical mass, to move the ball. I believe we are going to have a candidate to fight this battle. I’m inspired by the people i’ve met across the country, the young people in the Sunrise movement, and the climate strikers — these people have given me confidence we can move ahead. So I’m not going to be carrying the ball, but we’re going to make sure somebody is.

Many 2020 Democrats tweeted out support for Inslee and his devotion to climate change-related issues following his announcement.

“Thank you @JayInslee for fighting every day to make sure that climate change remains a primary focus of this election,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tweeted, promising to “keep fighting” before it is “too late”:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) praised Inslee for bringing the climate change “crisis” to the “forefront of the national conversation” and promised to pass a Green New Deal:

“Few leaders have done more to shine a light on the climate crisis than @JayInslee,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) agreed. “His voice will be missed in this primary but I know he will continue this fight”:

“Climate change is the most grave threat we face, and we need leaders who match the challenge with the same urgency,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) tweeted.

“@JayInslee has modeled that leadership, and I’m grateful for his role in this primary. Let’s keep up the fight for our planet,” she added:

More:

Ten 2020 candidates are expected to participate in a “Climate Crisis Town Hall” hosted by CNN next month.

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