The only woman among the Democratic presidential candidates, former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, has dropped out of the 2004 contest.
Five days before the Iowa caucuses, Carol Moseley-Braun bowed out of the presidential race. Speaking at an Iowa high school, west of Des Moines, the former senator said her campaign suffered a chronic lack of funds. But she expressed hope that her efforts would open doors for other women and minorities to run for office.
The one-time U.S. ambassador to New Zealand threw her support behind former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, one of eight Democratic candidates remaining in the race.
"Governor Dean is the candidate best-equipped to bring Americans together, to renew our country, and restore our privacy, our liberty and our economic security," she said.
Ms. Moseley-Braun was the nation's first black woman elected to the Senate, and one of two African-Americans to seek the Democratic presidential nomination this year. Public opinion polls consistently showed Ms. Moseley-Braun with minimal support among likely Democratic voters.
