Michael Bloomberg drops out of Democratic race after Super Tuesday humiliation

The billionaire spent more than $500m on his campaign

Michael Bloomberg has dropped out of the race to be the Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election.

The billionaire, who has an estimated net worth of $60bn (£46.7bn), entered the race in November and attempted to self-fund his way to win the Democratic Party nomination. But lacklustre results from Super Tuesday have encouraged him to drop out.

On Wednesday, it was announced Mr Bloomberg would be leaving the race and endorsing former vice president Joe Biden.

“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,” Mr Bloomberg said in a statement. “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.

“I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. After yesterday’s vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden,” he added.

He spoke to supporters in New York later on Wednesday to officially confirm his endorsement of Mr Biden. During the speech, he reiterated his commitment to the Democratic Party beating President Donald Trump come November.

Super Tuesday was intended to be a big push for the former New York mayor to solidify his nomination among Democratic voters. To compete, he spent more than $500m (£389m) on his campaign with a large amount of that money going towards the 14 Super Tuesday states.

But then, just one day before voters went to the polls, both Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr Biden. The vice president also got an endorsement from former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke, a move that potentially helped boost Mr Biden to win the state over Bernie Sanders.

States like California and Maine were still counting their votes – with the former looking like a victory for Mr Sanders and the latter for Mr Biden – but the former vice-president left the night as the new frontrunner for the race. Mr Bloomberg, though, only rallied 12 confirmed delegates as of Wednesday morning compared to the vice president’s 404 confirmed delegates.

Although Mr Bloomberg had what appeared to be limitless funds to keep his campaign going, he also experienced multiple blunders when trying to garner votes that included underwhelming performances at the debates.

He took part in his first debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 19 February. During heated exchanges, he was unable to fend off attacks from Senator Elizabeth Warren, specifically when it came to his comments about women.

She called him “a billionaire who calls women ‘fat broads’ and ‘horse-faced lesbians’” before demanding Mr Bloomberg release any woman who had allegations against him from their nondisclosure agreements.

Mr Bloomberg also had to respond to his controversial stop-and-frisk policing policy he put in place during his time as New York’s mayor.

He first became mayor of New York while with the Republican Party in 2002. Three years later, he was re-elected with the party before deciding to leave the Republican Party. He then won his re-election campaign in 2009 as an independent.

The former mayor then put his support behind the Democratic Party before joining the race as the last contender in November. But, ultimately, Mr Bloomberg was unable to create enough momentum behind his campaign.

Mr Trump reacted to the news of the recent dropout in a tweet earlier on Wednesday.

“Mini Mike Bloomberg just ‘quit’ the race for President. I could have told him long ago that he didn’t have what it takes, and he would have saved himself a billion dollars, the real cost,” he wrote. ”Now he will pour money into Sleepy Joe’s campaign, hoping to save face. It won’t work!”

The president might not be currently worried about the surge Mr Biden’s campaign has experienced in recent days, but Mr Bloomberg dropping out and endorsing the candidate could help shape the election in the coming months.

After the billionaire announced he was dropping from the race, Mr Biden tweeted out a thanks for adding his support to his resurging campaign.

“I can’t thank you enough for your support – and for your tireless work on everything from gun safety reform to climate change,” the vice president wrote to Mr Bloomberg. “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.”

Mr Bloomberg built a campaign apparatus that includes 500 staffers committed to carrying on into the general election even if he was no longer competing, NBC News reports. That could substantially improve the Democratic Party’s chances of winning against Mr Trump come November.