Former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday but kept the door open to continuing as a third-party candidate.
As he bowed out of the primary field, Webb sounded a bipartisan note, insisting that opposing parties should refer to each other as “opposition” instead of as “enemies.”
“Our country is more important than a label,” Webb said. “Democrats used to understand this.”
Webb admitted his views often put him out of line with the Democratic establishment even as he slammed the amount of money in politics. But Webb threw jabs at both of the major parties. “Americans don’t like the extremes to which both parties have moved in recent years,” Webb said, insisting he would “remain fully engaged” as he considered continuing his presidential bid.
But even as he said he was not fully certain of what he would do now, Webb sounded willing to continue his bid outside the major parties.
“It’s time for a new Declaration of Independence though not from an outside power,” Webb said, insisting, with both parties flawed, American democracy needed an “honest broker.”
Webb said former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had absorbed much of the oxygen in the Democratic primary and noted that he talked to experts who said the time could be ripe for an independent to make a splash in a presidential election.
Last week, Webb engaged in the first Democratic presidential debate. Webb received less attention from moderator Anderson Cooper than Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., something the former senator repeatedly pointed out during the debate. Following the debate, Webb insisted the debate was “fixed” and said he was open to continuing his campaign outside the Democratic Party.
Webb graduated from the Naval Academy and served in the Marines during the Vietnam War, being awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. After his military service, Webb worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer for the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee and as an assistant defense secretary and as secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration. In 2006, Webb upset then-U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., who had been considered a leading Republican presidential hopeful for 2008. Webb did not seek a second term in 2012.
While he launched an exploratory committee in November, Webb officially entered the race in June. Webb focused on foreign affairs during his campaign, noting his opposition to the Iraq War and President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear program and offering warnings about China. But Webb garnered little traction, placing far behind Clinton and Sanders in the polls.
With Webb out of the race, Clinton, Sanders, former Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-Md., former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Lincoln Chafee, D-R.I., and Harvard professor and campaign reform activist Larry Lessig are running for the Democratic nomination. Vice President Joe Biden is weighing entering the race.
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