$500M Later, Bloomberg Drops Out of 2020 Race

That's how much of his own fortune the candidate spent on the race
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 4, 2020 9:20 AM CST
Bloomberg Drops Out, Endorses Biden
In this March 3, 2020 photo, Democratic presidential candidate former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg waits to speak at a news conference, in the Little Havana neighborhood, in Miami.   (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday and endorsed Joe Biden. It was a stunning collapse for the former New York City mayor, who set his 2020 hopes on the Super Tuesday states and sank more than $500 million of his own fortune into the campaign, reports the AP. Axios put his total spend at $600 million and quipped, "Never in American history has a presidential candidate spent more to get less than Mike Bloomberg, making his buy-a-nomination bid a big bust. ... Bloomberg spent $600 million to win as many states as every American who chose not to run: zero." On Tuesday he won only the territory of American Samoa and picked up several dozen delegates elsewhere. Bloomberg issued a lengthy statement that you can read in full at the Hill. Standout lines:

  • "Three months ago, I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump. 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've always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. After yesterday's vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden."
  • "I am deeply grateful to all the Americans who voted for me—and to our incredibly dedicated staff and volunteers all around the country, who knocked on more than 2 million doors and held 12 million voter conversations in an incredibly short amount of time. No one outworked our team."
  • "We made our campaign slogan a clear, simple promise: Mike will get it done. And I intend to keep working on the 'it.' I will continue to work for sensible, common-sense policy solutions that can get done. That includes passing gun safety laws that save lives. Fighting climate change. Improving health care. Making college more accessible and affordable. Creating economic opportunity for all."
(More Michael Bloomberg stories.)

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