Michael Bloomberg suspended his campaign on Wednesday following a poor performance on Super Tuesday, and threw his support behind former Vice President Joe Biden, further strengthening Democratic solidarity behind Biden.
“Three months ago, I entered the race for President to defeat Donald Trump,” Bloomberg said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
After spending $500 million on campaign advertising and only winning American Samoa on Super Tuesday, the former New York City mayor endorsed his one-time rival.
“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,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “I’ve known Joe for a very long time. I know his decency, his honesty, and his commitment to the issues that are so important to our country – including gun safety, health care, climate change, and good jobs.”
Democratic voters in Alabama heavily favored Biden, who won every county, and all but a few by more than 50 percent.
Bloomberg had pinned his hopes on a big win Tuesday, the first preliminary in which his name appeared on ballots, but Biden managed to secure 351 delegates, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, won 280, according to The New York Times.
An aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, told NPR on Wednesday that Warren was “talking to her team to assess the path forward.” Warren hasn’t been able to break into the top two spots in any state primary, and performed poorly in Alabama, with just 5.7 percent of the votes.
