Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of the three remaining contenders as the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party ended her campaign Thursday after another candidate, former New York City mayor and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, quit the race Wednesday. Both threw in the towel after disastrous performances in the Super Tuesday primaries on March 3.
Warren's decision to drop out was expected after disappointing performances in all the 18 primaries and caucuses starting with Iowa. A third place Super Tuesday finish in her home state of Massachusetts, which former vice president Joe Biden won, was especially galling. Warren's withdrawal now makes the Democratic Party's nomination contest a two-man the race between Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
"We didn't reach our goal, but what we have done together -- what you have done -- has made a lasting difference," said Warren said on a call with her campaign staff ahead of the official announcement in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Both Biden and Sanders praised Warren for her toughness and her commitment to bettering a lot of ordinary Americans.
"She has run a very strong issue-oriented campaign and the reason that her campaigns ideas will remain viable for many, many years is she has changed political conscience in America," said Sanders.
In a tweet, Biden called Warren "the fiercest of fighters for middle-class families."
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race Wednesday after spending more than $500 million since he entered the race in November 2019. Bloomberg, however, decided to skip the first four primaries and caucuses to focus on Super Tuesday races in 14 states and American Samoa. Bloomberg lost in all the 14 states and only won in American Samoa, which has five delegates.
After lavishly praising and thanking his campaign staff for taking him this far, Bloomberg quickly announced his withdrawal from the race to stunned supporters. He also renewed his promise to beat president Donald Trump.
Bloomberg endorsed Biden, who came back from the dead to win 10 of the 14 Super Tuesday states, including an upset win in Texas (228 delegates).
"Joe has fought for working people his whole life. Today I am glad to endorse him -- and I will work to make him the next President of the United States," said Bloomberg.
Biden and Bloomberg spoke on the phone early Wednesday. Bloomberg promised to help Biden in any way he can, which is music to the ears of Biden's cash-strapped campaign. Bloomberg, who is the sixth richest person in the U.S., has a net worth of more than $65 billion.
"After yesterday's results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible," said Bloomberg in a statement. "And a viable path to the nomination no longer exists. But I remain clear-eyed about my overriding objective -- victory in November. Not for me but for our country."
Since he joined the race four months ago, Bloomberg has spent more than $570 million of his money on advertising alone, an unprecedented spend his critics complain is a blatant attempt to buy the U.S. presidency. This huge sum, which meant Bloomberg spent $4.8 million per day, failed to win him any of the 14 Super Tuesday states.
Sanders won four states, including delegate-rich California with its 415 delegates. Sanders' win in California might mean he winds up with the most number of delegates after Super Tuesday. California isn't expected to finish counting the ballots until the weekend. As it stands now, Biden has 453 delegates to Sanders' 373.
Bloomberg's departure clears the way for Biden to go head-to-head against Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, in the remaining primaries. The next primaries take place on March 10 when six more states will vote.
Bloomberg has always said if he didn't win the nomination, he'd support the Democratic candidate by funding an independent anti-Trump effort.
"Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president," said Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg's campaign manager, to NBC News in January. "He is dedicated to getting Trump out of the White House."
