Another Democrat drops out: Julian Castro exits 2020 presidential race

The 2020 Democratic presidential field lost another candidate Thursday with Julian Castro's announcement that he was no longer running.

"It's with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today," Castro said in a Thursday morning tweet. "I'm so proud of everything we've accomplished together. I'm going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts—I hope you'll join me in that fight."

In a video accompanying the tweet, Castro said that he is "so proud of the campaign we've run together," adding, "We've shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this race, stood up for the most vulnerable people, and given a voice to those who are often forgotten."

But due to the short amount of time left until the Iowa caucuses combined with the "circumstances of this campaign season," Castro said, "I've determined that it simply isn't our time."

Castro's campaign, like those of others who dropped out of the race before him, just failed to gain a lot of traction in the crowded presidential field. RealClearPolitics put his polling average at 1.2 percentage points as of Thursday. The same page also shows that the former onetime Obama administration HUD secretary had been in the back of the presidential pack since announcing his campaign last January.

Much like his polling, Castro's fundraising numbers consistently paled in comparison to those of the primary field's front-runners. Third-quarter numbers for 2019 showed that he had just $700,000 cash on hand. The campaign laid off staff in New Hampshire and South Carolina in early November.

And those polling and fundraising woes also played into Castro's exposure on the Democratic debate stage; he hadn't qualified for a DNC primary debate since September, failing to meet the requirements to participate in both the November and December events.

According to Ballotpedia, Castro's departure brings the total number of Democratic presidential primary candidates to 14.