The Democratic primary field continues to narrow. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) finally put her ill-advised campaign out of its misery, and next week's debate in Houston will be a one-night affair featuring only 10 candidates on stage.
At this point, the science is all but settled: The race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination is a three-way contest between former vice president Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.).
Former travel blogger Beto O'Rourke is not going to curse his way out of irrelevance. He trails tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang in the polls, despite receiving a disproportionate amount of media coverage.
South Bend mayor Pete "Boat Shoes" Buttigieg has given it the old college try, but might as well drop out. His failure to register a statistically significant level of support among black voters means his path to the nomination is non-existent. Sen. Kamala "Five-O" Harris (D., Calif.) might have had a shot, but faded dramatically after a strong start. The most recent Economist/YouGov poll has Harris in 5th place at 5 percent, down 4 points since last month. Buttigieg is slightly ahead at 6 percent.
Harris, who declared herself a "top-tier" candidate in July, while mocking rival candidate Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) for her dismal poll numbers, leads Gabbard by just 2 percentage points in the recent poll. Support for the former "law and order" attorney general has declined from a high of 15.2 percent in July to 6.6 percent in the Real Clear Politics polling average, while Buttigieg (4.6 percent) remains mired in the mid-single digits.
Meanwhile the three leading candidates continue to post strong numbers. Biden maintains a double-digit lead in the Real Clear Politics polling average, at 30.4 percent. Warren (17.1 percent) and Sanders (16.3) are locked in a battle for second place.
This is the 2020 Democratic primary. Everyone else is merely jockeying for cabinet positions, the VP slot, book deals, and cable news gigs. Sorry Kamala, no cops allowed. Better luck next time, Boat Shoes.