Jim Webb Drops Out Of Democratic Race, Doesn’t Rule Out Independent Bid For President

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:14 pm

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Jim Webb announced on Tuesday that he was no longer seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. The former Virginia Democratic Senator was languishing badly in the polls. He struggled in the first Democratic presidential debate, spending much of his allotted time complaining that he wasn’t given more time. When he did have an opportunity to speak during the debate, he espoused positions on affirmative action, gun laws, and energy policy that were out of step with the other candidates and with Democratic voters.

At his 1 PM Eastern time press conference, Webb announced his withdrawal from the Democratic primary race, stating:

I fully accept that my views on many issues are not compatible with the power structure and base of the Democratic Party. For this reason I am withdrawing from any consideration of being the Democratic Party’s nominee for the presidency.

He did not however, rule out running for the White House as an independent candidate. He hinted at a possible independent run by arguing:

Poll after poll shows that a strong plurality of Americans is neither Republican nor Democrat. Overwhelmingly they’re independents. Our political candidates are being pulled to the extremes. They are increasingly out of step with the people they are supposed to serve.

Although Jim Webb took the opportunity to chastise the Democratic Party for being out of step with the people, it was Webb himself who repeatedly seemed to be out of step with the changing demographics of the United States, and with the increasingly inclusive and progressive values of the Democratic Party.

Jim Webb’s campaign seemed hopelessly anachronistic. Not only did he fail to raise money or to do the traveling necessary to be regarded as a serious candidate, but he also campaigned as if he was running in the 1980s or 1990s. Webb, may be the last of the “Reagan Democrats.” Like other conservative “blue dog Democrats,” Webb still believes the Democratic Party should water down their progressive platform positions to win over middle of the road and right-leaning rural and small town white voters.

That strategy however is a recipe for failure as those voters increasingly identify with the GOP. Given the choice between tea party fanatics and moderates who try to placate the extremists, many white rural voters prefer the hardcore ideologues over their centrist appeasers. The Democratic Party’s future lies mostly with urban voters who have little in common with the angry white voters who made up  significant portions of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan’s winning coalitions of the late 20th century.

Jim Webb may decide to run as an Independent candidate for president, but it is unlikely that he would command a strong following. Many of the voters he is trying to appeal to, have already settled on a Republican candidate named Donald Trump. Webb did not put up much of a fight in the Democratic primary. He will be even more obscure if he launches a quixotic third party bid for the White House.

Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.