DES MOINES, Iowa — John Delaney has ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, more than two-and-a-half years after he became the first to announce his candidacy.

The former Maryland congressman and entrepreneur, 56, was a self-made multimillionaire before he entered politics.

Despite a large staff presence in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and sinking tens of millions of dollars from his personal fortune into his campaign, he never rose above the lowest tier of 2020 Democrats.

[ Related: John Delaney's team asks him to drop out of 2020 race]

"I encourage the party to sharpen its focus on the growing opportunity inequality that exists in both rural America and struggling urban communities," Delaney said in a statement Friday. "The concentration of start-ups and investment capital in a small number of areas is troubling and smart public policy is needed to encourage entrepreneurs to start businesses everywhere."

Delaney received the most attention for his campaign during the second Democratic debate, when he hammered Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts for their support of "Medicare for all" and the Green New Deal, calling the environmental and health care plans unrealistic and fodder for attacks from President Trump.

Delaney during his bid became one of the most vociferous critics of his party's left-wing, suggesting Sanders, Warren and other candidates were making promises to voters on health care and the environment that couldn't possibly be fulfilled.

While on Friday he committed to supporting his party's eventual nominee, he said Sanders and Warren would have "tougher" battles to beat the White House incumbent in the general election. Yet he warned that he was ending his campaign before next week's opening contest because he was at risk of siphoning caucus-goers from his former center-left rivals.

"My support is sufficient enough to take from other more moderate candidates, and I just don't want to do that because I think we need a candidate who's running in the center who can bring this country together," he told CNN.

He touted Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar's platforms, but declined to endorse any of them at this time.



Former Rep. John Delaney just announced that he's dropping out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race https://t.co/CB524yeqhe pic.twitter.com/X1cnkXwR0c — New Day (@NewDay) January 31, 2020

Before running for president, Delaney served as a three-term representative for Maryland's 6th Congressional District from 2013 to 2019. Prior to entering politics, he founded several healthcare companies. His net worth is estimated at over $200 million.

But even Delaney's considerable wealth was eclipsed by the entrance into the race of former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, worth more than $1 billion, and Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, whose estimated wealth is more than $59 billion. Both have been free-spending in primary and caucus states around the country.

Delaney's departure leaves 11 candidates in the Democratic primary race. Voting kicks off Monday with the Iowa Caucuses.