Beto O’Rourke is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race

Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. for Texas Beto O'Rourke speaks at the Iowa Federation Labor Convention on August 21, 2019 in Altoona, Iowa.

Joshua Lott | Getty Images

Former Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke said Friday that he will drop out of the 2020 presidential race.

“Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively,” O'Rourke announced in a series of tweets. “In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.”

The announcement also included a link to a lengthy post on Medium, in which O'Rourke vowed to support the eventual Democratic nominee.

“We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020,” O'Rourke wrote in the blog post. “I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I'm going to be proud to support whoever that nominee is.”

O'Rourke had told some of his donors earlier this week that he was likely going to drop out, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

O'Rourke, 47, was a U.S. representative in Texas before giving up his seat to run for Senate in 2018 against incumbent Ted Cruz. His impressive fundraising numbers and large crowds in that race garnered national attention, raising hopes among Democrats that Texas, traditionally a reliably Republican stronghold, could be turned blue. 

Despite losing to Cruz, O'Rourke announced in March that he would run for president. 

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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— CNBC's Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.

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