He had not once graced a debate stage. He raised a mere $5 in the most recent reporting period.
Despite being the only presidential candidate in the room, he wasn’t asked to speak at the Florida Democratic Party state convention this summer.
But while other medium-profile Democratic presidential candidates like New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Texas Sen. Beto O’Rourke have dropped out, little-known Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam held on.
It seemed as though everyone else knew his campaign was dead except him.
Until now.
In a Medium post Wednesday, Messam, 44, announced he was dropping out of the race and explained how he jumped into a crowded field of candidates eight months ago after growing more and more “disgusted about our nation’s direction.”
He admits that the “odds were a steep hill to climb,” but pushed forward anyway, despite polling at a flat zero.
Messam blames his weak campaign not getting the same early media exposure “other candidates were freely given” and points out that he did not have “millions of dollars from existing federal campaign accounts” like his opponents in Congress did.
The Florida Democratic Party declined to comment.
While his rollout in July was topped off with a polished video and announcement on CNN’s New Day, the intrigue dropped off quickly.
The Miami New Times reported early in his campaign that several staffers hadn’t been paid for their work (Messam called it a “miscommunication”). Staffers said Messam told them that he believed they were “volunteering” for the campaign, despite offer letters and start dates sent to them via email.
“This is the most immoral, unethical thing I’ve ever seen in my 15 years of politics,” CeCe Grant, the former chief operations director for Messam’s campaign, told BuzzFeed News.
Some early hires with experience working for Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Andrew Gillum have since cleared their social media of references to Messam.
He initially reported raising $83,000 during the first two-plus weeks of his campaign, although he later amended his financial report to clarify that he’d actually raised just $43,000. He raised about $50,000 in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the most recent reporting period, he raised just $5. ,
He was also criticized by activists in his own town for neglecting protests at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Miramar. He told protesters he would join them in their weekly demonstration but never showed, the New Times reported. The ICE office is four miles from Miramar’s city hall.
What’s next for Messam? Business as usual, he says.
Rumors that he has his eyes on Democrat Rep. Alcee Hastings’ seat in Congress are unfounded, he said, and he will continue to serve as mayor of Miramar.
“America, I have not given up hope,” he wrote in the blog post. “I know the Promise of America is still for all of us.”
Messam, a first-generation Floridian born to Jamaican parents, was a wide receiver for Florida State University’s 1993 national champion football team. Before entering politics, he ran a construction business. In 2018, he served as president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 2:17 PM.