A reporter disseminated a picture of fliers that gave crowd instructions for Beto O'Rourke supporters at an Iowa conference center.

New York Times politics reporter Katie Glueck noticed the papers abandoned on a table at the Des Moines, Iowa, conference center where O'Rourke had been scheduled to speak before abruptly dropping out of the race Friday. "A stack of these Beto cheer guides were in a box on an abandoned table at the arena here in DSM [Des Moines]," she tweeted. "There were rolls of stickers, too— passersby stopped to grab some. 'So sad! It’s so sad!' one woman said."

O'Rourke ended his campaign under financial duress, which would likely have meant laying off campaign workers in the near future. The former Texas congressman was never able to duplicate the momentum he gained during a run for Senate in 2018, a race that he narrowly lost to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in his bid for reelection.

O'Rourke started his campaign on a strong note with more than $6 million raised on the first day, but he was never able to consistently poll above more than 1% or 2%, leaning heavily on proposals for stricter gun control, more liberal abortion laws, and punitive taxes for churches that do not endorse gay marriage.

[Related: Beto O'Rourke says churches should be taxed if they refuse to support gay marriage]

O'Rourke ended his campaign via Twitter on Friday, becoming the latest Democrat in the large pool of candidates to bow out of the race. "Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively," he said in a tweet. "In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee."