Deval Patrick drops out of Democratic presidential race

Rebecca Morin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption New Hampshire: Sanders victorious, Yang and Bennet bow out Bernie Sanders beats out Pete Buttigieg to win the New Hampshire primary. Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet drop out of the race.

About three months after jumping into the 2020 Democratic primary, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is calling it quits following his low finish in New Hampshire.

Patrick, who made history becoming Massachusetts’ first black governor, said Wednesday in an email to supporters that he had decided to suspend his campaign "effective immediately."

"I am not suspending my commitment to help – there is still work to be done," Patrick continued in the email. "We are facing the most consequential election of our lifetime. Our democracy itself, let alone our civic commitments to equality, opportunity and fair play, are at risk."

Patrick, a Massachusetts Democrat and a close ally of former President Barack Obama, campaigned heavily in New Hampshire due to his state’s proximity to the first-in-the-nation primary state.

"The vote in New Hampshire last night was not enough for us to create the practical wind at the campaign's back to go on to the next round of voting," Patrick wrote in the email. He won less than half of a percentage point of the vote in the state's Democratic primary Tuesday.

Patrick's exit follows Sen. Michael Bennet and Andrew Yang leaving the race Tuesday night after New Hampshire polls closed. The once historically large Democratic field is now winnowed to seven candidates. It also now includes only one candidate of color, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

In December 2018, Patrick initially took his name out of the running as a presidential hopeful, citing “the cruelty of our elections process.”

"I’ve been overwhelmed by advice and encouragement from people from all over the country, known and unknown. Humbled, in fact," Patrick said in a statement posted to Facebook then. "But knowing that the cruelty of our elections process would ultimately splash back on people whom Diane and I love, but who hadn’t signed up for the journey, was more than I could ask."

More: Trump complains Democrats overshadowed his 'record setting' New Hampshire vote

More: Sen. Bernie Sanders edges Pete Buttigieg to win New Hampshire Democratic primary, according to projections

But by the end of 2019, he had changed his mind and threw his hat back in the ring.

Several days before New Hampshire's primary, Patrick, 63, went on a six-day, 1,000-mile bus tour to try to gain the support of undecided voters.

“Almost all the people I met are still undecided and I think what that means is that people aren't satisfied with the rest of the field,” Patrick said at a CNN town hall the week before the New Hampshire primary. “I'm not surprised by that. When they hear someone who has actually delivered on an agenda that others are just talking about or that they have plans for, when they hear what it takes to deliver those progressive outcomes, we are winning support.”

When he first announced his candidacy, Patrick labeled himself as a more centrist candidate, and pointed to himself as an alternative to former Vice President Joe Biden, who he claimed was is ceding his place in polls at the time to progressives, like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Patrick was born on the south side of Chicago, where he grew up poor. He later earned a scholarship to Massachusetts' Milton Academy, where he graduated from high school. He went on to attend Harvard College and later graduated from Harvard Law School. Patrick was a part of President Bill Clinton’s administration as chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

During the 2018 midterms, Patrick stumped for several Democratic candidates, including Texas’ Colin Allred, who won his election for a seat in the U.S. House, and Mississippi’s Mike Espy, who lost a run-off election for the U.S. Senate. In August 2018, allies of Patrick launched a political action committee entitled "Reason to Believe.”