Pete Buttigieg withdraws from Presidential campaign bid

Pete Buttigieg ended his campaign for President Sunday night, concluding the White House bid that vaulted the once-unknown mayor from South Bend, Indiana, to a top presidential contender.

Despite a successful start, his campaign lost momentum in recent weeks.

NYT reports that the decision comes just 48 hours before the biggest voting day of the primary, Super Tuesday, when 15 states and territories will allot about one-third of the delegates over all. The results were widely expected to show him far behind Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders.

The former mayor is the first of the major moderate candidates to drop out, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D-N.Y.) in the race.

CNN reports that Buttigieg officially made the announcement during a hastily planned event on Sunday in South Bend, where the former mayor said “today is a moment of truth… the truth is the path has narrowed to a close, for our candidacy, if not for our cause.”

“So we must recognize that at this point in the race the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and our country together,” Buttigieg said. “So tonight, I am making the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency

Fourteen states will vote on Super Tuesday, by the end of which staunch left-winger Bernie Sanders could have an unbeatable lead and be a step closer to the nomination.

The Hill reports “Buttigieg also notably made history as the first openly gay presidential candidate on a major party ticket. His husband, Chasten, became a staple of his campaign, particularly on social media.  “Sadness. Disappointment. Huge respect. Pete did the math and wanted to make sure his voters had a chance to cast meaningful votes on Tuesday for a candidate who could still prevail in Milwaukee,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who was the first member of Congress to endorse Buttigieg, told The Hill. “Pete’s best days still lie ahead. He earned the respect and affection of tens of millions of Americans.”

Ever since his campaign’s launch, Buttigieg’s support in the polls fluctuated. It peaked during his performance in the Iowa caucuses, where he narrowly won the delegate share over Sanders. However, the former mayor fared worse in Nevada and South Carolina, where he came in third and fourth place, respectively. Buttigieg struggled to gain traction among minorities, especially black voters, with some polls placing his support from the voting bloc at zero percent. 

His critics also sought to highlight several racially charged controversies he has dealt with in South Bend, including his demotion of the city’s first black police chief. Buttigieg’s decision to drop out of the race comes after billionaire Tom Steyer suspended his campaign on Saturday following a poor showing in South Carolina. 

The former mayor is the first of the major moderate candidates to drop out, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D-N.Y.) in the race.