John Delaney drops out of the 2020 race

The first Democrat to enter the 2020 race is getting out.

Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney announced Friday he's ending his campaign for president, saying he's doing so as not to hurt other moderate candidates in Iowa.

"It's clear to me on Monday, on caucus night, I will not have sufficient support to get to the 15 percent viability threshold ... but my support is sufficient enough to take from other, more moderate candidates, and I just don't want to do that," Delaney told CNN's New Day.

Delaney, who The Washington Post notes became the first Democrat to enter the 2020 race by announcing his candidacy all the way back in 2017, went on to urge Democrats to nominate a candidate "who's running in the center." Asked on CNN Friday who his supporters should caucus for, Delaney named three while noting he's not endorsing anyone: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Notably, Delaney didn't name Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). While making clear he'll support the eventual nominee, he argued Sanders and Warren will both have a "tougher campaign" against President Trump than the other candidates while criticizing Sanders' policy vision as "not real governing." Brendan Morrow