Biden nabs Klobuchar, Buttigieg backing on Super Tuesday eve
ALABAMA, United States (AP) — Rivals no more, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg united behind Joe Biden’s presidential bid on Monday as the Democratic Party’s moderate wing scrambled to boost the former vice president just hours before voting began across a series of high-stakes Super Tuesday states.
Klobuchar formally suspended her campaign and endorsed Biden on Monday, a day after Buttigieg announced his formal exit. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend Indiana, planned to announce his support for Biden later Monday at a rally in Dallas that Klobuchar also planned to attend, according to two people familiar with the decision who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The fast-moving developments came on the eve of Super Tuesday, when 14 states, one US territory and Democrats abroad cast ballots in the party’s turbulent nomination fight. Klobuchar and Buttigieg become the second and third Democrat to abandon their presidential bids since Biden scored a resounding victory in South Carolina, his first of the 2020 roller-coaster nomination fight.
A shrinking group of other Democrats vowed to press on, potentially toward a contested convention.
The fast-moving developments came at a key crossroads in the Democratic Party’s turbulent primary season. Fourteen states, one US territory and Democrats abroad will vote on Tuesday, which offers almost 10 times as many delegates in a single day than have been awarded over the first month.
Fiery progressive Sanders remained the undisputed front-runner. But the rest of the field was decidedly unsettled, even after Biden’s South Carolina blowout and the departures of Klobuchar, Buttigieg and billionaire activist Tom Steyer.
New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg in particular could create problems for Biden’s establishment appeal. Bloomberg, who will appear on a 2020 ballot for the first time on Tuesday, has invested more than a half billion dollars into his presidential bid and wracked up many high-profile endorsements of his own.
