Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), a 2020 presidential hopeful and veteran who focused his centrist campaign on military issues, will formally end his campaign on Friday.
In an interview with the New York Times, he said that the race is truly between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and warned that “veering too far left” could cost Democrats the White House.
He cited Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, another moderate who also struggled to make the debate stage, as evidence that the primary was pulling candidates further and further left.
He was also open about his own missteps, as he did not enter the race until late April, just before Biden announced and completely overshadowed the rest of the field.
“Candidly, getting in the race late was a mistake,” Moulton told the Times. “It was a bigger handicap than I expected.”
Moulton declined to make any endorsements, though he spoke highly of Biden. He will run again for his House seat.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee also dropped out of the race this week to run for another gubernatorial term; former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper exited last week and will run for Senate.
