After failing to win any of the 14 states on Super Tuesday, Bloomberg acknowledged that he had no real path forward in the Democratic race, saying '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. And so while I will not be the nominee, I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life," Bloomberg added.
In a tweet, Biden thanked Bloomberg for his support.
"This race is bigger than candidates and bigger than politics," Biden said. "It’s about defeating Donald Trump."
.@MikeBloomberg, I can’t thank you enough for your support—and for your tireless work on everything from gun safety reform to climate change. This race is bigger than candidates and bigger than politics. It’s about defeating Donald Trump, and with your help, we’re gonna do it.
— Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) March 4, 2020
NEW: Michael Bloomberg: "I will not be our party's nominee—but I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life, and I hope you won't walk away either." https://t.co/nUvK9QBqS5 pic.twitter.com/0TLPlIU6pL
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2020
Bloomberg, who plunged millions of his own money into his 2020 run for President, was unable to break through in any meaningful way on Super Tuesday.
Overnight, Bloomberg lost delegates as the votes came in from both Texas and California, as he dropped below the 15 percent threshold for statewide delegates.
It was possible that Bloomberg could finish fourth behind Elizabeth Warren in delegates from Super Tuesday, as Warren was also said to be reviewing the future of her campaign.
Bloomberg was the fourth major Democratic candidate to leave the race since Biden won the South Carolina Primary by a large margin on Saturday night, joining Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar in endorsing Biden.
Those endorsements - especially from Klobuchar in her home state of Minnesota - seemed to rally Democratic Party voters to Biden's side, as he won nine states, and was leading in a tenth in Maine.
Bloomberg, who pumped more than $500 million of his own fortune into the campaign, announced his departure after a disappointing finish on Super Tuesday. He only won the territory of American Samoa and picked up several dozen delegates elsewhere. https://t.co/5cqEWNN98p
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) March 4, 2020
Bloomberg out. Says in a statement: “I’m a believer in using data to inform decisions. After yesterday’s results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible – and a viable path to the nomination no longer exists.”
— Tarini Parti (@tparti) March 4, 2020
Bloomberg's campaign - fueled by millions in pervasive television advertisements - pushed him into the top tier of Democratic candidates by mid February.
But Bloomberg's weak performance at a pair of Democratic debates - in which he was attacked repeatedly by Elizabeth Warren - caused his poll numbers to wane, as Biden suddenly grabbed on to major momentum in the Democratic race.
As for Warren, she was also meeting with top advisers, trying to figure out if she would stay in the race, a night after losing her home state and finishing no better than third on Super Tuesday.
New: Elizabeth Warren's campaign manager Roger Lau has just sent an email to all staff, first thanking them, and also sharing this blunt assessment about last night:
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) March 4, 2020
“We fell well short of viability goals and projections, and we are disappointed in the results.”
Warren has no campaign events scheduled until Friday in Michigan.
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