Beto ORourke has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race.

Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively, ORourke said on Twitter Friday . In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.

In a blog post explaining his decision , ORourke said dropping out now is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country.

The former Texas congressman struggled to distinguish himself in a crowded Democratic field. Polling averages suggested waning national enthusiasm for ORourkes presidential ambitions, as the candidate fell from a high-water mark of 9.5 percent in April to the low single digits by mid-August.

The polling figures and dwindling fundraising were nevertheless enough to qualify ORourke for the third round of Democratic debates, held in mid-September.

People close to ORourke told The New York Times they dont expect him to run for Senate, yet he notably made no such promise in his post on Friday.

In mid-August, the Houston Chronicle encouraged ORourke to do so, publishing an editorial titled Beto, come home. Texas needs you. The paper applauded his outspoken and forthright response to a mass shooting at a Walmart in his hometown of El Paso.

At the time, ORourke had paused his national campaign to return to the mourning city. While other candidates tiptoed around the link between President Trumps rhetoric and a sharp increase in racist violence, ORourke flatly placed the blame at Trumps feet and called him a white supremacist .

Trump is a racist, and he stokes racism in this country, ORourke told an ABC reporter . It does not just offend our sensibilities; it fundamentally changes the character of this country and it leads to violence.

That frank diagnosis heartened the Chronicles editorial board:

We arent used to seeing candidates act like real people.

Frankly, its made us wish ORourke would shift gears, and rather than unpause his presidential campaign, wed like to see him take a new direction.

So Beto, if youre listening: Come home. Drop out of the race for president and come back to Texas to run for senator. The chances of winning the race youre in now are vanishingly small. And Texas needs you.

Should he decide to try and unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R), hell enter the primary race with immediate fundraising and name-recognition advantages over Democratic rivals.