Seth Moulton Ends 2020 Presidential Campaign With a Warning – The New York Times

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Mr. Moulton said he would run for re-election to the House, representing a coastal district to the north and east of Boston. Several other Democrats filed to run for his seat while Mr. Moulton was a presidential candidate, and he is likely to face a contested primary.

Mr. Moulton said he would also relaunch his political action committee, Serve America, to promote issues related to veterans and the military. Those issues, he said, were not “getting the attention they deserve” in the presidential race.

With Mr. Moulton’s departure, the sprawling Democratic field shrank to 21 candidates.

He is the fourth Democrat to leave the presidential race this summer, following Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Representative Eric Swalwell of California. Mr. Hickenlooper announced on Thursday that he would run for Senate, while Mr. Inslee and Mr. Swalwell are running for re-election to their current posts.

A combat veteran who served in the Iraq War, Mr. Moulton campaigned on themes of strengthening national defense and promoting public service, and criticizing Mr. Trump for damaging the country’s most vital alliances. In May, he revealed that he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from war, and called for new policies to attend to the mental health issues of soldiers and veterans. Stanley McChrystal, the retired general who led American forces in Afghanistan, endorsed Mr. Moulton’s campaign.

But Mr. Moulton entered the race late, in a strategic choice he now concedes was a mistake. He announced his candidacy in late April, days before Mr. Biden became a candidate and overshadowed much of the rest of the Democratic field.