After she went 'all in' on Iowa and failed to gain traction, Kamala Harris drops presidential bid

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Tuesday, ending a campaign that started with promise but failed to gain traction in Iowa.

“As the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete," she said in a video posted on her Twitter account. "In good faith, I cannot tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do.” 

Her decision to drop out comes about 10 weeks after Harris launched an "all in on Iowa" strategy at the end of September, saying she wanted a top-three finish in the first-in-the-nation caucuses. She increased the number of paid staffers here from 65 to 131.

She visited the state almost every week for the past two months, with 38 public events in Iowa from late September through Sunday, according to the Des Moines Register's Candidate Tracker. Since October 2018, she held 87 campaign event in the state.

"Iowa has a long tradition and history of expecting the candidates spend time here and that folks get to know you," she said in Waterloo on Sept. 20. "I'm prepared to make that investment. I honor and respect the process, and that is what the process requires."

In addition to marque events like the Polk County Democrats' Steak Fry and the Liberty and Justice Dinner, Harris crisscrossed the state for house parties and speaking pavilions. Her family spent Thanksgiving in the Waterbury neighborhood during her most recent six-day swing through Des Moines.

Yet, her Iowa poll figures dropped. In late September, a Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll found she ranked fifth in the state, with 6% of likely Democratic caucusgoers selecting her as their top candidate.

By mid-November, only 3% of respondents said Harris was their first choice. That placed her in a tie for sixth with outsider candidates like Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer and Tulsi Gabbard. 

Harris' team also struggled to raise funds. Campaign Manager Juan Rodriguez announced at the end of October that headquarters staff would take pay cuts. They also laid off the campaign's New Hampshire organizers.

In a memo, Rodriguez said the team would deploy many "field staff from New Hampshire, Nevada, and California" into Iowa. But unlike at the end of September, Harris' campaign did not provide an exact figure of how many staffers they brought here.

After Harris announced she was dropping out on Tuesday, a campaign aide told the Register that she will return to the early states to thank employees. 

Harris, who was elected to the Senate in 2016, first announced her bid on ABC's "Good Morning America” on Jan. 21.

State Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, who endorsed Harris at the end of September, said minority campaign workers for other candidates called and texted him Tuesday.

"It’s important for diverse voices to be represented," he said. "... Whether you’re a person of color in a city or in a community that’s rural, it impacts the process of decision-making. But also, it’s important who is at the table and in the room. It helps make communities feel represented."

Wilburn met Harris in the rope line after a campaign event in April in Iowa City. He told her he wished she spoke out more in support of LGBTQ rights. About a week later, he saw her do just that during a television interview, and he believed she took his advice.

Wilburn said Harris was an intent listener during their other meetings. He most recently met with her on Saturday in West Des Moines, when Harris held a meeting with African American leaders. The day before, the New York Times wrote a critical article about her campaign, blaming her poor performance in part on tension between Rodriguez and Harris' sister and campaign chair, Maya Harris.

Wilburn declined to discuss what the group talked about Saturday, but he said, "she was as determined as ever."

Dianne Baker Hoye, who hosted a house party for Harris on Saturday, said she did not see any indication that the campaign would end. Baker Hoye, who housed a campaign staffer, backed Harris because of her background as a prosecutor, believing she could sting President Donald Trump in presidential debates next fall.

A volunteer for Martin O'Malley's 2016 presidential bid, Baker Hoye said Harris' field staff in Iowa was as organized and dedicated as any team she had seen. After the standing-room only event at her house, a staffer told Baker Hoye they received 95 commit to caucus cards. She believed momentum was building for a comeback.

"She had people," Baker Hoye said. "I don’t know what was behind her decision." 

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Register. Contact him at 515-284-8215 and tjett@registermedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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