Washington (CNN) Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday she will not run as an independent candidate if she fails to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

"I will not," the Hawaii Democrat told CNN's Jim Sciutto on "Newsroom." "No, I have ruled that out."

"I'm going to continue to focus on moving our campaign forward, continuing this grassroots campaign, continuing to deliver our message to the American people and ask for their support," she added.

Gabbard failed to qualify for the next Democratic debate in September after making the first two debates. She reached the fundraising threshold, but did not meet the Democratic National Committee's polling minimum to qualify.

The Hawaii congresswoman claimed Thursday that there's "no explanation or transparency around why certain polls are qualifying while other very credible recognized polls are somehow not qualifying."

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