The Democratic candidate pool for the 2020 presidential election recently shrunk by one. Washington governor Jay Inslee dropped out of the race. Although Inslee seemed like a promising candidate, here are couple reasons why he ultimately decided to end his presidential run.
Refreshing your Memory
If you haven’t been following the candidates for the 2020 election, here’s a quick refresher. Jay Inslee was a contender who insisted that climate change should be a top priority because it’s one of the biggest issues of this generation. Eli Rosenberg, a writer for thewashingtonpost.com wrote, “The two-term governor released a plan that called for a new Justice Department office to prosecute environmental laws and vowed to put at least 40 percent of federal investments in clean energy in communities disproportionately affected by income inequality, pollution and other climate-related impacts.” It was a solid idea that yielded him a lot of donor support. However, Inslee had trouble truly getting his campaign off the ground.
Lack of Numbers in the Polls
When asked, Inslee cited low name recognition and lack of poll traction for his dropout. Eli Rosenberg wrote for thewashingtonpost.com saying, “In a letter to supporters, Inslee said he was not meeting the polling threshold set by the Democratic National Committee to quality for debates in the fall, despite getting 130,000 campaign donors. “As a result, I don’t believe we can compete for the attention and exposure needed to have a reasonable shot at the nomination,” he said.” What started as a promising campaign with a large number of donations, didn’t quite translate in the actual race. Inslee held only 0.2% of the national average which unfortunately didn’t add up to a viable campaign.
Calling it a Win
Although Inslee is saying goodbye to the 2020 election, he still considers his campaign a success. He is quoted in an article written by Eli Rosenberg for thewashingtonpost.com, as saying, “In recent presidential cycles, climate change got little attention from the candidates, the DNC, or the media,” he wrote to his supporters. “We vowed to change that in a big way and succeeded. Many of the campaigns started with little attention to climate, but since our campaign began, we’ve seen almost every serious candidate put out a climate plan; we’ve seen climate come up in both debates; and we now have two networks hosting nationally-televised climate forums in September.”
What’s Next?
Now that his presidential run has come to an end, Inslee is presumably going to work on seeking his third term as governor of Washington state. He plans to continue his work addressing climate change within his own state. He also hopes to reintroduce legislature that will reduce emissions and pollution by taxing carbon.
Saying goodbye to a dream can be difficult to do. As Inslee moves forward in his political career, here’s hoping he has much success in both attempting to help unify the Democratic party as well as lead the nation in greener, cleaner emissions practices.