Washington CNN  — 

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday she will not run as an independent candidate if she fails to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

“I will not,” the Hawaii Democrat told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on “Newsroom.” “No, I have ruled that out.”

“I’m going to continue to focus on moving our campaign forward, continuing this grassroots campaign, continuing to deliver our message to the American people and ask for their support,” she added.

Gabbard failed to qualify for the next Democratic debate in September after making the first two debates. She reached the fundraising threshold, but did not meet the Democratic National Committee’s polling minimum to qualify.

The Hawaii congresswoman claimed Thursday that there’s “no explanation or transparency around why certain polls are qualifying while other very credible recognized polls are somehow not qualifying.”

“Frankly, the DNC has not provided any transparency to voters about how they’re making these decisions,” Gabbard told CNN.

The DNC required that all polls be conducted by an approved pollster, released between June 28 and August 28, 2019, conducted nationally or in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and/or Nevada, and fit a certain question structure.

The candidates needed to garner 2% support in four or more polls of this nature, which could not be conducted by the same pollster in the same region.

Gabbard told CNN that the debates provide a “great platform” to reach potential supporters, but it’s “not the only way to be able to talk to voters and to be able to spend time with them.”

In a recent interview with CBS News, Gabbard appeared to suggest that there’s no circumstance in which she would not support the Democratic nominee.

“I am, as are all of the other candidates that I’m aware of running for president, committed to defeating Donald Trump in 2020. I look forward and hope to be able to earn that nomination myself, but if not, then I’ll join with others in making sure that that happens,” Gabbard said.

CNN’s Grace Sparks and David Wright contributed to this report.