The 52-year-old Democrat announced her decision in a tweet Wednesday as her campaign, which once looked to ride strong #MeToo credentials, was plagued by low polling and fundraising struggles.
“I am so proud of this team and all we’ve accomplished. But I think it’s important to know how you can best serve,” she tweeted. “To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now, let’s go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate.”
Gillibrand’s exit comes on a day that more than half the candidates were in peril of not making the third Democratic debate, with the Democratic National Committee’s cutoff for unique donors and polling numbers hitting at midnight. She likely will be joined by a number of other Democratic hopefuls leaving the race once the debate lineup is announced Thursday.
She formed an exploratory committee in January and officially entered the race in mid-March, but her “Brave”-themed campaign never picked up traction. She had trouble attracting big bunglers, in part because she was the first Senate Democrat to call for Sen. Al Franken’s ouster on the heels of #MeToo allegations, which she says alienated donors and some voters.

She also wasn’t getting the support of New Yorkers, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo putting his weight behind Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden.
Gillibrand was appointed to the Senate in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. She was vocal on curbing sexual harassment and promoting equal pay for women and family leave, making those and defending abortion rights the core of her presidential bid.

8,414′Today, I am ending my campaign for president.
‘I am so proud of this team and all we’ve accomplished. But I think it’s important to know how you can best serve.
‘To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now, let’s go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate.’ she posted in a Facebook message ending her 2020 bid.
Trump weighed in on her exit, claiming it was him she feared and not her Democratic rivals.
‘A sad day for the Democrats, Kirsten Gillibrand has dropped out of the Presidential Primary. I’m glad they never found out that she was the one I was really afraid of!,’ he tweeted.
Gillibrand, who ran a campaign focused on women’s issue, never gained ground with Democratic voters, notably she failed to hit the set mark of 130,000 necessary donors or 2 points in four polls necessary to make September’s debate stage.


In most polls on the race, she barely hit the one point mark.
But the Democratic senator will continue to campaign against Trump, her campaign said. She will also will raise and invest at least $1 million to elect women this cycle.
‘There is dignity and strength in knowing when it’s not your time. Moving forward, Kirsten will focus on uniting our party and our country to beat Donald Trump, flip the Senate and elect women up and down the ballot,’ her campaign manager Jess Fassler said.

Sen. Gillibrand [second left], was on stage for the second Democratic debate, hsted by CNN

Her campaign admitted it put it all on the line to make the September debate stage – which she fell short in both donations and poll numbers to qualify.
‘In the third quarter, the campaign ramped up spending and invested heavily in television in Iowa and New Hampshire, digital advertising, and added nearly 30 field staff in order to build a strong voter contact program,’ Fassler noted.
The campaign said it still has $800,000 in its coffers.
Gillibrand told The New York Times she will endorse in the presidential race but would not pick a contender yet – although she hinted it could be a female.