Pete Buttigieg — a history maker in the 2020 presidential race in multiple ways — is dropping out after a series of disappointing primary finishes curdled his early successes, PEOPLE confirms.
An aide says Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Navy veteran, will announce his decision on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The first major openly gay presidential candidate and the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential nominating contest, Buttigieg was the campaign cycle’s breakout: an unknown 12 months ago who triumphed at the Iowa caucus (albeit by a razor-thin and controversial margin) and came in a close second place in the New Hampshire primary.
But that strength did not carry him forward.
Buttigieg placed third at the Nevada caucus and then came in a more distant fourth in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, failing even to earn delegates in the latter vote.
His exit narrows the field even further and, to many observers, leaves the race essentially to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won in New Hampshire and Nevada (and second in Iowa), and former Vice President Joe Biden, whose double-digit victory in South Carolina revived his campaign.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar continue to press their case, with somewhat strong showings in select states so far. But neither has won a primary or caucus.
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will first be on the ballot on so-called “Super Tuesday,” in two days, after unusually choosing to bypass the early voting states.
Billionaire Tom Steyer also left the race this weekend, in the hours after South Carolina’s primary results came in showing him in third.
from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/2x4o7rL
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