The shining moment now over and the financial and political realities setting in, California Senator Kamala Harris is calling off her campaign for the presidency as of today.
An email went out to supporters Tuesday morning delivering the solemn news, with Harris noting, "I'm not a billionaire. I can't fund my own campaign."
Harris writes:
I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life. 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.
As Axios reports, the campaign confirmed the suspension of the campaign effective immediately. Dysfunction within the campaign was already being widely reported, in particular in this New York Times piece over the weekend, and a plan to concentrate her efforts on gaining some footing in Iowa was clearly not panning out. Harris had already laid off her New Hampshire staff early last month in order to conserve cash to concentrate on Iowa.
Maya Rudolph has had some fun portraying Harris in a couple of recent Saturday Night Live debate sketches, casting Harris — as she sort of casts herself — as America's "cool aunt."
This means Harris can go back fully to her work in the Senate, and in her role on the Judiciary Committee she may be again center stage if and when the impeachment proceedings reach the Senate.