Democrat Amy Klobuchar suspends 2020 presidential campaign

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has bowed out of the race for the Democratic nomination, and will endorse Joe Biden. Klobuchar’s departure comes after a series of dismal results in the first primaries of the year.

An aide to Klobuchar confirmed the news on Tuesday. The senator will suspend her own campaign and fly to Dallas on Monday night to stump for Biden, an establishment favorite now boosted by a convincing win in the South Carolina caucuses on Saturday.

Prior to her retirement, Klobuchar had languished at the bottom of the narrowing list of Democratic nominees. Despite finishing in third place in New Hampshire last month, she came in sixth place in Nevada and South Carolina, and fifth in Iowa.

Klobuchar is the second centrist Democratic candidate to drop out in as many days. Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg abruptly bowed out of the party race on Sunday, despite winning in Iowa and narrowly trailing Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire.

With two moderates out of the running, the scene is now set for Biden to face off against Sanders on ‘Super Tuesday’, as 14 states get ready to award 1,357 pledged delegates to the Democratic contenders.

Buttigieg also plans to endorse Biden, Reuters reported on Monday.

The influx of Klobuchar and Buttigieg supporters will be a welcome boost for the Biden campaign, as despite a win in South Carolina, the former vice president continues to trail Sanders in national polls.

Tuesday will also mark the first time that billionaire Mike Bloomberg appears on ballots. The former New York City mayor opted out of the first round of contests this primary season, choosing instead to spend more than $500 million on advertising.

President Donald Trump has seized on the rapid shakeup in the Democratic leaderboard, portraying the party establishment as a machine hell-bent on taking the nomination from Sanders. “This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play,” he tweeted after Buttigieg’s resignation. 

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