Kamala Harris, the California senator, has dropped out of the race to win the Democratic presidential nomination to take on Donald Trump at the 2020 election.

Ms Harris was seeking to be the first ever black woman nominated for president by the two major political parties and had been widely touted as a strong contender.

However after a brief polling surge when she challenged Joe Biden, the former US vice president and front-runner, on the debate stage Ms Harris has sunk to low single digits in national polling.

The source of her struggles appears to have been a mix of being caught between clear Left and Centre pitches from rivals, lack of policy clarity over policies like healthcare and nagging questions over electability .

In a message to supporters announcing the news, Ms Harris wrote: “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.

“I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.

“In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do.