Gabbard says she won’t mount 3rd-party 2020 presidential bid

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, speaks during a news conference at the 9/11 Tribute Museum, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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WASHINGTON — Longshot presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard says she will not launch a third-party bid for the White House if she fails to secure the Democratic nomination.

For weeks questions have swirled over whether the Hawaii congresswoman could play spoiler in 2020. That’s what many Democrats accuse Jill Stein of doing in 2016, when her Green Party candidacy cut into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s margins in key battleground states in the contest against Republican Donald Trump.

Gabbard said on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday that she’s “running to build a new Democratic Party.” She added that she’s said “no every time” she’s been asked if she would launch a third-party bid.

Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez says Gabbard “enthusiastically” pledged last week that she wouldn’t continue if she lost.