Former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced today he is ending his presidential campaign and endorsing Joe Biden.
A day after the Super Tuesday primaries, in which he spent more than $5.1 million per each delegate he earned, according to Fox News, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced this morning (Wednesday, March 4) that he is ending his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and is endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden, according to CNBC.
“Three months ago, I entered the race for President to defeat Donald Trump. Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump – because it is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
He added, “I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. After yesterday’s vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden.”
Biden was the big winner in Super Tuesday voting, even winning here in Texas where Sen. Bernie Sanders was expected to come out on top. As of this morning, the delegate count stands at 453 for Biden, 382 for Sanders and 50 for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The only other candidate still in the race in Hawaiian Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who earned one delegate last night by coming in second to Bloomberg in American Samoa. Among candidates who have dropped out of the race, Bloomberg has 44 delegates, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg has 26 and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has seven.
A candidate will need 1,991 delegates at the Democratic National Convention to win the nomination on the first ballot. The 771 super delegates will not vote in the first ballot.
As Bloomberg did this morning, both Buttigieg, who dropped out last Sunday, March 1, and Klobuchar, who dropped out Monday, March 2, have endorsed Biden. Biden claimed a surprise victory in Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota yesterday after getting the senator’s backing.
— Tammye Nash
