New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has officially dropped out of the race to the White House, a statement from her campaign has announced.
She made the move after failing to qualify for the next round of the debate for the Democratic Party slated for next month.
Gillibrand had styled herself in the course of her short-lived presidential campaign as a women rights activist who would ensure the expansion of women rights if elected to the presidency.
In an interview with the New York Times, a top publication in the US, she said that she would support another candidate in order to ensure that President Donald Trump is defeated in the polls.
“I think that women have a unique ability to bring people together and heal this country,” Gillibrand said.
“I think a woman nominee would be inspiring and exciting. I will support whoever the nominee is, and I will do whatever it takes to beat Trump," she told the New York Times.
The 52-year-old said on the campaign trail that she was the best candidate for women in the country but her message failed to resonate with the voters.
She tried to leverage on her record as a defender of women rights and had been particularly vocal about sexual assault.
Gillibrand found herself in a crowded field of aspirants more popular and with far greater clout than her.
Former US vice president Joe Biden is seen as the favourite.