“I’m confident that he will lead our country guided by the spirit of aloha, respect and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart,” she added.

Gabbard closely tied the reasons for her withdrawal from the race to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying that “the best way that I can be of service at this time is to continue to work for the health and well-being of the people of Hawaii and our country in Congress, and to stand ready to serve in uniform should the Hawaii National Guard be activated.”

Gabbard previously served two tours in the Middle East with the Hawaii Army National Guard — in Iraq from 2004-2005 and in Kuwait from 2008-2009 — and stepped away from her campaign in August to report for active duty, participating in a two-week joint training exercise in Indonesia.

Apart from Biden and Sanders, Gabbard outlasted all of her Democratic rivals to become the third remaining White House hopeful in what began as a historically diverse and crowded pack of candidates.

The Hawaii lawmaker faced significant criticism for her seemingly quixotic decision to stay in the race beyond the early nominating contests, and now finishes her campaign with only two pledged delegates — less than several of her former rivals who dropped out weeks ago.

But Gabbard, long a controversial figure within the Democratic field, had little to lose after declaring in October that she would not seek reelection to a fifth term in Congress, a prospect complicated by a formidable primary challenger and thorny relationships with other Hawaii politicians.

She had also become the subject of widespread skepticism among national Democrats, often rebuked for her past anti-LGBT rhetoric, isolationist brand of diplomacy and 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom she declined to label a war criminal despite the dictator’s use of chemical weapons to attack his own people.

Gabbard typically polled better with independents than self-identified Democrats, and acquired some support from fringe conservatives. She was frequently referenced in Russian media and propaganda, prompting a high-profile clash with Hillary Clinton after the 2016 Democratic nominee claimed the congresswoman was the “favorite” of Moscow.

Although Gabbard’s last appearance in a primary debate was in November, before the Democratic National Committee raised its bar to participate, she emerged as a fiery on-stage presence — blasting other candidates for their records and proposals on foreign policy, criminal justice and the impeachment of President Donald Trump, among other issues.

Her exit from the race Thursday after weeks of defying political pressure to drop out reflects the new nature of the Democratic primary, which has become frozen in place amid the COVID-19 outbreak and seen Biden mount a nearly insurmountable delegate lead over Sanders. The senator’s campaign manager announced Wednesday he would “assess” the state of his White House bid in the days ahead.