Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney on Friday dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary, just three days before the first-in-the-nation caucuses in Iowa where he had staked his long-shot candidacy.

“It has been a privilege to campaign for the Democratic nomination for President, but it is clear that God has a different purpose for me at this moment in time,” Delaney said in a statement. “I leave this race with a profound sense of gratitude to the voters who shared with me their hopes and concerns for our magnificent country, in admiration for the other contenders for the nomination and proud of the work we did to change the debate.”


Delaney’s campaign said his decision was “informed by internal analyses indicating John’s support is not sufficient to meet the 15% viability in a material number of caucus precincts, but sufficient enough to cause other moderate candidates to not to make the viability threshold, especially in rural areas where John has campaigned harder than anyone.”