Harvard Law School professor and political activist Larry Lessig has dropped his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Lessig announced the end of his campaign in a video statement Monday. The statement cited his lack of visibility in the race, which was in part due to Lessig's inability to secure a spot in the Democratic primary debates.
"From the start it was clear that getting into the Democratic debates was the essential step in this campaign," Lessig said.
Under Democratic National Committee debate rules announced this summer, candidates had to poll at least 1 percent in three "credible national polls" in the six weeks leading up to the debate in order to qualify. A DNC memo in August clarified that candidates had to reach that threshold a full six weeks before the debate, rather than anytime within the six-week time frame.
"Under the new rule, unless we can time travel, there is no way that I will qualify," Lessig said Monday.
Lessig consistently polled at less than 1 percent throughout the summer.
Without the visibility boost from an official debate appearance, Lessig said, his candidacy would never get off the ground. He admitted in the video that he "may be known in the tiny corners of the tubes of the Internets, but I am not well-known to the American public generally."
Lessig campaigned on the single issue of wiping out political corruption in Washington, saying that if elected, he would resign the presidency as soon as reforms were made. However, he later withdrew that promise, calling it "stupid" during an appearance on "Real Time With Bill Maher" last month.