Just ahead of the Super Tuesday primary, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said he would drop out of the race to be president. Buttigieg had won the Iowa primary, but had disappointing results in the contests that followed.
Image: Getty Images/S. Olson
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Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday that he would suspend his campaign.
The announcement came just two days before Super Tuesday, where 14 states are to hold their primaries.
"We got into this race in order to defeat the current president and in order to usher in a new kind of politics," Buttigieg told supporters. Now, he said, it was time to "step aside and help bring our party and our country together."
The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had narrowly won the Iowa Caucus, but failed to win the contests that followed, with a disappointing fourth place finish in the most recent primary in South Carolina.
At 38-years-old, Buttigieg was the youngest candidate in the race and a relatively unknown figure in American politics when he announced his bid for president.
An Afghanistan war veteran who would have been the first openly gay US president, Buttigieg had modeled himself as someone who could unite Democrats, independents and moderate Republican voters, against President Donald Trump.
“Mayor Pete,” as he was known to his supporters, had promoted his status as a Washington outsider to create contrast with the other candidates in the race.
His departure now leaves six Democrats in the party's presidential race, which had more than 20 candidates when it kicked off.
jcg/rc (AFP, Reuters, AP)
US elections: Who are the Democratic candidates?
The Democratic race to see who will be the party's nominee in the 2020 presidential elections has begun. The party has more than a dozen candidates vying to take on President Trump. Here are some of the lead contenders.
Image: Getty Images/S. Olson
Bernie Sanders
The US senator from Vermont is making his second attempt at becoming the Democratic nominee for president. The Vermont resident, raised in New York City, is a self-described democratic socialist whose liberal policies include medicare for all and free tuition to public universities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/M. Altaffer
Joe Biden
Characterized as a moderate Democrat, the former vice president under Barack Obama is making his third presidential bid — after unsuccessful campaigns in 1988 and 2008. Republican President Donald Trump in December was impeached for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden's son, Hunter.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo
Elizabeth Warren
The US senator from Massachusetts is making her first presidential run after declining to do so in 2016. She is a progressive Democrat who has proposed plans to introduce a wealth tax, reduce student debt in the US and to offer free tuition at public universities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/S. Senne
Pete Buttigieg
The former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana became a candidate for the Democratic nomination after the Iowa caucus results saw him neck-and-neck with Sanders. A moderate, Buttigieg is a self-described democratic capitalist who advocated for working with labor unions, and released a three-part plan to combat climate change. Buttigieg pulled out of the race ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries.
Image: Reuters/B. McDermid
Amy Klobuchar
The US senator from Minnesota was a darkhorse candidate who struggled to pull in broader support outside her home state. She is a moderate, experienced lawmaker who has called for a $100 million plan to combat drug and alcohol addiction and urged improvements on mental health care. Klobuchar pulled out of the race shortly before Super Tuesday, throwing her support behind Biden.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Souffle
Michael Bloomberg
The former Independent New York City mayor and billionaire business mogul is making his first run in the presidential race. He joined the bid to be the Democratic nominee after he voiced dissatisfaction with the Democratic field, with anti-establishment figures gaining steam. He has unveiled election plans that call for a wealth tax, gun control and environmental protections.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/The Augusta Chronicle/M. Holahan
