Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from the state of Minnesota, dropped out of the U.S. presidential race Monday and endorsed former vice president Joe Biden the same evening along with another former presidential candidate, mayor Pete Buttigieg. Buttigieg dropped-out of the race Sunday after a poor showing in the South Carolina primary won overwhelmingly by Biden.
Klobuchar, Buttigieg and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke (also a former presidential candidate) all endorsed a visibly ecstatic Biden at a Monday evening rally in Texas. The endorsement by his former rivals gives Biden more momentum against the current frontrunner, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during Super Tuesday this Tuesday was 1,334 delegates from 14 states and American Samoa are at stake.
An aide said Klobuchar made her decision to endorse Biden to unify the party against Sanders and to help heal a fractured party. Klobuchar will campaign for Biden after Super Tuesday, said sources close to her. Political analysts see Klobuchar's withdrawal, and her and Buttigieg's endorsement of Biden, as a consolidation of moderate or centrist Democrats behind Biden.
The stunning turn of events, all aimed at beating President Donald Trump, came after Biden's crushing win in South Carolina on February 29 where he won 48% of the vote to Sanders' 20%.
Klobuchar's and Buttigieg's withdrawals will make it more likely the race for the Democratic Party's nomination will come down to Biden and Sanders. Sanders is an avowed democratic socialist whose far left platform is alienating many Democrats and jeopardizing the party's chances of beating President Donald Trump in November.
Sanders, however, is the current frontrunner and draws his strength from a passionate base of vocal supporters united in their hatred of Trump. He enjoys a small lead in delegates over Biden, having won the popular vote in Iowa caucus, the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucus.
On the other hand, Biden resoundingly won the South Carolina primary on February 29, breathing new life into his faltering campaign and making him a credible threat to Sanders. Billionaire Tom Steyer withdrew from the race Saturday. His departure and that of Buttigieg and Klobuchar leaves only Sanders, Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and billionaire Mike Bloomberg still in the race for the nomination.
Warren, a progressive like Sanders who is a close friend, is struggling against dismal performances in the first four nominating contests. Pundits expect Warren to also drop out of the race but likely after Super Tuesday so she can gauge the extent of voter support for her.
Bloomberg, however, will slug it out on Super Tuesday. He skipped the first four nominating contests to focus his campaign on doing well among the 14 states at stake on Super Tuesday. Bloomberg, who has a personal worth of more than $65 billion, has spent an unheard of $174 million of his money on TV ads and other campaign publicity ahead of Super Tuesday. In contrast, Sanders (the second biggest spender) has only spent $16 million and much of this comes from campaign donations.
During her campaign, Klobuchar ran on a more moderate platform than many of her rivals. Her more popular opponents, however, prevented her campaign from gaining traction and led to embarrassing performances that together showed she had no place to go. She finished fifth in Iowa, the first nominating contest, and sixth in South Carolina, the latest contest. Steyer and Buttigieg, both of whom finished above her in South Carolina, dropped out of the race on Saturday and Sunday.
