WASHINGTON _ Michael Bloomberg is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race and endorsing Joe Biden after a lackluster Super Tuesday showing, his campaign announced Wednesday.
Bloomberg won't have the chance to see how his strategy of spending millions on TV ads and appearing at more campaign events in Florida than any other candidate would stack up against Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the two leading candidates left in the race.
"Three months ago, I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump � because it is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult. 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. But I remain clear-eyed about my overriding objective: victory in November. Not for me, but for our country."
Bloomberg's statement comes a day after he campaigned throughout Florida and said he had no plans to drop out. But he only won one Super Tuesday contest, the caucus in tiny American Samoa, and didn't reach the 15% threshold to receive delegates in a number of states, including Texas and California.
Bloomberg's supporters were prepared for the news after his underwhelming performance Tuesday. Less than an hour before the campaign announced the candidate's withdrawal, Bloomberg's campaign manager, Kevin Sheekey, sent a reflective campaign email to supporters thanking them "for getting us this far."
"I think he's realistic," Evan Ross, a Miami political consultant and Bloomberg supporter, said in an interview about a half hour before Bloomberg announced his decision to drop out. "The only thing he can accomplish by staying in the race is making it harder for Joe Biden to win the delegates he needs to win the nomination."
Ross predicted that Biden will now win the Florida primary by at least 30 percentage points. Hillary Clinton beat Sanders by 31 percentage points in Florida's 2016 Democratic primary.
Bloomberg has said his army of staffers will continue to support the Democratic nominee until the general election in November, a potential boon in expensive swing states like Florida. Florida's primary is March 17.
The former New York mayor and billionaire businessman also praised Biden's positions on gun safety, healthcare and climate change in his announcement.
"'I've known Joe for a very long time. I know his decency, his honesty, and his commitment to the issues that are so important to our country � including gun safety, health care, climate change, and good jobs," Bloomberg said.
Biden leads Sanders in the delegate race, 453 to 373, after a strong Super Tuesday showing.
