Pete Buttigieg Is Dropping Out And Clearing A Bigger Path For Biden

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:57 am

Pete Buttigieg is suspending his presidential campaign after he failed to attract African-American support and has no path to the nomination.

The New York Times reported:
Pete Buttigieg, the former small-city Indiana mayor and first openly gay major presidential candidate, has decided to quit the Democratic race, a person briefed on Mr. Buttigieg’s plans said on Sunday, following a crushing loss in the South Carolina primary where his poor performance with black Democrats signaled an inability to build a broad coalition of voters.

Mr. Buttigieg, 38, narrowly won the Iowa caucuses early last month and came in a strong second place in the New Hampshire primary, exciting liberal white Democrats with his cool, hyper-articulate manner. But he never broadened his breadth of support in a party with a nonwhite base, and one that has veered leftward since 2018.

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Mayor Pete ran a historic campaign. He was the first openly gay presidential candidate to win a primary or caucus. Buttigieg raised $76 million, but he burned through it in Iowa and New Hampshire and was unable to recapture his momentum after Nevada.

Buttigieg couldn’t attract a coalition of support that looks like the majority of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg’s suspension won’t impact Super Tuesday in states like California where most of the vote is in already, but his departure from the race is great news for Joe Biden, who has more room to consolidate the support of non-progressive Democrats.

Buttigieg has a very bright future ahead of him that one suspects includes a longer and more successful presidential campaign.

Mayor Pete is out, and now all eyes turn to Amy Klobuchar as the next moderate with no chance to win to exit the race.

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