This Is the First Democrat to Drop Out of 2020 Race

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California is ending his presidential bid, becoming the first candidate in the 2020 Democratic primary field to exit the campaign. Swalwell announced his decision Monday, the AP reports. He had signaled that he would consider bowing out of the presidential race if he was in danger of missing the cutoff for the next nationally televised Democratic debate, which is based on separate polling and donor qualifications.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock missed the threshold for last month's debate but was ahead of Swalwell in the competition for this month's televised Democratic faceoff before the four-term California congressman exited the primary. If Swalwell seeks another term in Congress, he already has a challenger ahead of next year's election in his liberal-leaning district: Democrat Aisha Wahab, a city councilwoman in Hayward. Another candidate appears ready to fill the void: Tom Steyer, a billionaire who has funded political causes—including calling for President Trump's impeachment—has told staff members he's going to enter the presidential race as a Democrat, per CNN.

(More Eric Swalwell 2020 stories.)