- Backs Biden to square up with Trump
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, his campaign announced in an email to supporters on Wednesday.
Sanders’ exit from the race makes former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee in the race against President Donald Trump.
In an address from his home in Burlington, Sanders said his path to the nomination had become “virtually impossible” and that the country should stay focused on handling the coronavirus pandemic as it sweeps the nation.
“I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work ahead of all of us,” he said.
Sanders congratulated Biden and called him a “very decent man,” but he stopped short of officially endorsing Biden and said he would keep his name on the ballot in all the remaining primary races in an effort to collect enough delegates to influence the party platform.
Sanders hit the ground running with a series of wins in early primary and caucus states, but he failed to pick up momentum on Super Tuesday and subsequently lost delegate-rich states like Michigan and Florida to Biden, significantly narrowing his path to the nomination.
A veteran progressive lawmaker, Sanders built his campaign on calling for a “political revolution” and skewering the political establishment on both the left and the right. His 2020 presidential bid built on his 2016 primary race against Hillary Clinton, during which he established himself as the most prominent national voice for the populist, progressive left and an outspoken advocate for the working class.