Tulsi Gabbard ends presidential bid, endorses Biden
(SOUNDBITE)(ENGLISH) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TULSI GABBARD, SAYING:
"So today I am suspending my presidential campaign and offering my full support to Vice President Joe Biden in his quest to bring our country together."
And then there were two...
U.S. Representative and Iraqi War veteran Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday dropped out of the race to become the Democratic nominee.
Leaving former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to battle it out for who will face off against U.S. President Donald Trump in November.
Gabbard had stayed in the race even as better-known rivals dropped out.
She earned only two delegates during her campaign, finishing second in American Samoa where she was born.
By contrast, Biden currently holds 1142 delegates, and Sanders 824.
In her announcement on Twitter, Gabbard endorsed Democratic front-runner Joe Biden:
(SOUNDBITE)(ENGLISH) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TULSI GABBARD, SAYING:
"Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart, and he's motivated by his love for our country and the American people."
The endorsement was somewhat of a surprise, given Gabbard's past support for Biden's opponent, Bernie Sanders.
Despite her liberal views on most other issues, Gabbard has won praise from some Trump supporters and conservative media outlets, where she frequently appears as a commentator.
In January, she sued Hillary Clinton for defamation, seeking at least $50 million in damages from Clinton for harming her reputation by allegedly suggesting she was a Russian asset being groomed to disrupt the election by running as a third party candidate.
