Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Jay Robert InsleeBarr asked prosecutors to explore charging Seattle mayor over protest zone: report Bottom line Oregon senator says Trump's blame on 'forest management' for wildfires is 'just a big and devastating lie' MORE (D) dropped out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday.

Inslee told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne MaddowGOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power Schiff urges Trump administration members to resign: 'You cannot maintain your silence' Michael Cohen: Trump hates Obama because he's everything he 'wants to be' MORE during an interview that he would withdraw from the race because it had "become clear" to him that he had no path to the nomination.

"It's become clear that I'm not going to be carrying the ball," Inslee said Wednesday. "I'm not going to be the president, so I'm withdrawing tonight from the race."

BREAKING: Washington Governor Jay Inslee tells Rachel #Maddow that he is exiting the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race. pic.twitter.com/u8ZVlTjytM — Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) August 22, 2019

Inslee, who made climate change the signature issue of his campaign, told Maddow he was optimistic about his party's future and the ability of the U.S. to address the effects of climate change in time.

"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," he said.

Inslee had previously urged the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to focus an entire debate on the issue of climate change, which he has called the most pressing issue facing the U.S. Hours before his announcement Wednesday night, his campaign produced a plan for battling climate change in rural communities that would reward farmers for embracing eco-friendly technology.

Inslee had struggled to gain traction in the campaign, and in a press release, Inslee's campaign said it had become clear that reaching the polling threshold before the next round of debates would not be possible.