Harris praises Swalwell as he exits presidential race: ‘We are a stronger nation because of your work’

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 hopeful, commended Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) after the lawmaker announced he would be dropping out of the presidential primary.

.@ericswalwell, you’re a great fighter for the people of California. We are a stronger nation because of your work to protect our children and our communities from gun violence.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 8, 2019

Swalwell, who on Monday became the first Democratic candidate to drop out of the race, had made addressing gun violence across the country a focal point of his bid.  

{mosads}“My pledge to you tonight is that this issue comes first. And until it comes first, we’re not going to end gun violence,” Swalwell said April 9 at his campaign announcement in Florida just miles away from Parkland, the site of the deadly Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting last year.

But Swalwell announced Monday in a post on his campaign website that his polling and fundraising numbers were not “what we had hoped for” and that he no longer saw “a path forward to the nomination.”

Swalwell polled at zero percent among Democratic primary and caucus voters, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted June 29 to July 1.

“Today ends our presidential campaign, but it is the beginning of an opportunity in Congress with a new perspective shaped by the lives that have touched me and my campaign over the past few months,” Swalwell told reporters during a press conference.

The lawmaker is instead running for a fifth term in the House.