Elizabeth Warren to drop out of US presidential race

Democratic senator performed poorly in her party's primaries

Massachusetts Senator and democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and her husband Bruce Mann greet supporters as they walk to a polling site to vote in Cambridge, Massachusetts. EPA

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O'Meara Sanders greet poll workers before voting in their state's primary election at the Robert Miller Community Center in Burlington, Vermont. AFP

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg speaks during his Super Tuesday night rally in West Palm Beach, Florida. Reuters

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders talks to media after casting his ballot at a polling location inside a community center in Burlington, Vermont. EPA

Senator Elizabeth Warren leaves the voting booth at the Graham & Parks School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. AFP

Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg; and Manny Diaz, former Miami Mayor, prepare to enjoy their Cuban coffee at El Pub Restaurant in the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami, Florida. AFP

Supporters of Senator Elizabeth Warren watch as she approaches them before voting in the Primary Election in Cambridge, Massachusetts. AFP

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Dallas, Texas. Reuters

Larry Sanders, brother of US Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, is given a 'Bernie Abroad' badge after voting in Oxford, England. Getty Images

Voters wait outside a gymnasium for polls to open in the Madison Community Center polling place in Arlington, Virginia. AFP

Voters cast their ballot at Myers Park High School during the North Carolina primary in Charlotte, North Carolina. AFP

Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside an elementary school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. EPA

People vote in the Super Tuesday primary at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. AFP

People vote in the Super Tuesday primary at Belvedere Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. AFP

Voters cast their ballots at a voting center at Granada Park in Alhambra, California. AFP

A voter receives their ballot at a polling place inside the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

A young boy puts filled out ballots into a box in a polling station at the San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home in San Francisco, California. AFP

A resident votes at the Denver Election Center in Denver, Colorado. EPA

Stickers for people who vote in the Super Tuesday primary are on display at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. AFP

Signage directs voters outside the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

A man shows off his political button that says If I were 21 Id vote for Kennedy outside of the Taylor Elementary School after casting his ballot in Arlington, Virginia. AFP

Elizabeth Warren, once a top Democratic contender for the White House, has dropped out of the US presidential race after increasingly poor performances in party primaries, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

Ms Warren planned to announce her decision later in the day, the Times said, citing a source close to the Massachusetts senator.

She emerged as front-runner for the Democrat party nomination late last year on the strength of an anti-corruption platform backed by an array of policy proposals, but failed to win even in her home state in the Democratic primaries on Tuesday.

Ms Warren has spoken with Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, the leading candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to their campaigns. She is assessing who would best uphold her agenda, according to a source quoted by Associated Press.

Ms Warren never finished higher than third in the first four states and was routed on Super Tuesday, failing to win any of the 14 states voting and placing an embarrassing third in Massachusetts, behind Mr Biden and Mr Sanders.

Her exit from the race following Senator Amy Klobuchar's departure leaves the Democratic field with just one female candidate: Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who has collected only one delegate toward the nomination in the primaries. It was an unexpected twist for a party that had used the votes and energy of women to retake control of the House of Representatives, primarily with female candidates, just two years ago.

Ms Warren's campaign initially had all the markers of success: robust poll numbers, impressive fundraising and a sprawling political infrastructure that featured staffers on the ground across the country. She was squeezed out by Mr Sanders, whose immovable base of voters she needed to advance.