Some candidates were in for just a few months; others for almost the entire year. One left the race before most others even entered it. And now, at the end of 2019, a historically large field of presidential contenders has shrunk from more than two dozen to a slightly more manageable group of 18.
Before 2020 starts, let’s look back at the 13 Democrats and one Republican who dropped out, and at some of their happier moments before exiting the race.
Richard Ojeda
Former West Virginia state senator
Date entered the race: November 2018
Date exited the race: Jan. 25, 2019
Eric Swalwell
Representative from California
Date entered the race: April 8, 2019
Date exited the race: July 8, 2019
Mr. Swalwell announced he would end his presidential campaign only three months after getting started. Though his run was short-lived, he stood out for pressing the issue of gun control and taking swipes at former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., during the first Democratic debate.
John Hickenlooper
Former governor of Colorado
Date entered the race: March 4, 2019
Date exited the race: Aug. 15, 2019
Mr. Hickenlooper was the first of four candidates to exit the race in August. A moderate with a penchant for whimsy, Mr. Hickenlooper never missed an opportunity to fetch a banjo and strum — even and especially during grueling stretches of his campaign. He is now running for Senate.
Jay Inslee
Governor of Washington State
Date entered the race: March 1, 2019
Date exited the race: Aug. 21, 2019
Mr. Inslee, who chose a solar energy company as the backdrop for his campaign kickoff, surprised many when he announced he would leave the race over the summer. His relentless focus on climate change left a mark on the rest of the field and won him praise from other candidates.
Seth Moulton
Representative from Massachusetts
Date entered the race: April 22, 2019
Date exited the race: Aug. 23, 2019
Mr. Moulton, who ran for four months, pitched voters on his military service and argued for a “new generation of leadership” in Washington.
Tim Ryan
Representative from Ohio
Date entered the race: April 4, 2019
Date exited the race: Oct. 24, 2019
Mr. Ryan spent his campaign advocating on behalf of the Midwestern manufacturing workers whom he worried Washington had all but forgotten. He insisted that the federal government needed to invest in job creation and spoke passionately and often bluntly about gun control following a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.
Beto O’Rourke
Former representative from Texas
Date entered the race: March 14, 2019
Date exited the race: Nov. 1, 2019
Mr. O’Rourke’s first day in the race generated wall-to-wall coverage and saw him almost immediately climb onto a chair to enthusiastically take questions. But he also stood out in more somber moments, becoming a vocal advocate for gun control legislation after a mass shooting in his hometown, El Paso.
Mark Sanford
Former governor of South Carolina
Date entered the race: Sept. 8, 2019
Date exited the race: Nov. 12, 2019
On the Republican side, Mr. Sanford chose to end his long-shot primary challenge to President Trump just two months after announcing it. He had pitched voters on the need for fiscal conservatism, but ultimately decided that impeachment had consumed too much oxygen for his message to break through.
Wayne Messam
Mayor of Miramar, Fla.
Date entered the race: March 28, 2019
Date exited the race: Nov. 20, 2019
As a son of Jamaican immigrants, a former college football player, a small-business owner and a mayor, Mr. Messam brought a varied résumé to the race. He sought to draw attention to student debt, prescription drug costs and the environment.
Joe Sestak
Former representative from Pennsylvania
Date entered the race: June 22, 2019
Date exited the race: Dec. 1, 2019
Mr. Sestak, a former Navy admiral, centered his campaign around the need to “restore America’s leadership in the world.” To demonstrate his commitment to empathizing with voters, he walked — in his own shoes — 105 miles across New Hampshire in October wind and rain.
Steve Bullock
Governor of Montana
Date entered the race: May 14, 2019
Date exited the race: Dec. 2, 2019
Mr. Bullock, seen here stumping at the Iowa State Fair, made a late entry into the race, which put him at a disadvantage when it came to qualifying for the Democratic debates. Left off the stage all except once, he used the time to make his pitch directly to voters and highlight what he saw as the unfairness of the debate qualification process.
Ms. Harris drew a crowd of more than 20,000 people when she kicked off her campaign at a rally in Oakland, Calif. In the months that followed, Ms. Harris routinely found herself cheering and dancing alongside her supporters — many of whom were thrilled to see someone who they felt represented them running for the White House — as she did at the Nevada State Democratic Party’s “First in the West” event in Las Vegas, above. In the end, Ms. Harris struggled to make a clear ideological and policy case, and slid in the polls and among donors.