Former New York City Mayor Michael BloombergMichael BloombergEngel scrambles to fend off primary challenge from left It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process Liberals embrace super PACs they once shunned MORE dropped out of the 2020 race on Wednesday after a disappointing performance on Super Tuesday despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars in advertisements.
“Three months ago, I entered the race for President to defeat Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE. 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,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
He also endorsed former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE, saying it was clear from the Super Tuesday results that Biden was the best candidate to defeat Trump in November.
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“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,” he said.
Later in the day Bloomberg appeared to become emotional when addressing staffers and supporters in New York City.
“I’m sorry we didn’t win, but it’s still the best day of my life, and tomorrow’s going to be even better,” he said, getting choked up.
“Every place I went I listened to Americans – I heard about their hopes, their dreams, their fears, and their struggles,” Bloomberg told the crowd. “Those conversations just affirm my faith in the work that our team was doing to defeat Donald Trump.”
The former New York City mayor again endorsed Biden and said that he was “clear-eyed” that his objective was victory in November. “Together we will get it done!” he said.
As of Wednesday morning, Bloomberg had secured 44 pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination. Biden leads the field of candidates with 453 delegates, followed by 382 for Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE (I-Vt.) and 50 for Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names MORE (D-Mass.), according to figures from the Associated Press.
Fourteen states and one U.S. territory — American Samoa — cast ballots on Super Tuesday. Bloomberg’s only outright victory was in American Samoa, which does not have any votes in the Electoral College.
Bloomberg’s endorsement of Biden comes on the heels of similar support from two other former White House hopefuls: Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Democrats demand Republican leaders examine election challenges after Georgia voting chaos Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-Minn.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegScaled-back Pride Month poses challenges for fundraising, outreach Biden hopes to pick VP by Aug. 1 It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process MORE. Both had been competing with Biden and Bloomberg in the moderate lane.
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The past five days have been a whirlwind for Biden, who used a decisive victory in Saturday’s South Carolina’s primary to catapult him to wins in most of the Super Tuesday states.
The strategy
The billionaire officially launched his campaign on November 24. Sanders and Biden had launched their campaigns in February and April of 2019, respectively.
The 78-year-old entered the race so late that he didn’t qualify for the first four Democratic primaries: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
His unorthodox strategy was to instead focus heavily on Super Tuesday, in which 14 states and American Samoa vote. If he could win a couple of states and remain competitive in others, then he could stay in the race long enough to make the party convention in July contested.
Bloomberg reiterated this on the eve of Super Tuesday to reporters in his Miami field office.
“You don’t have to win states, you have to win delegates,” Bloomberg said.
When pushed on whether he wanted a contested convention, Bloomberg replied: “I don’t think that I can win any other way.”
To be nominated on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention, a candidate needs a majority of pledged delegates — 1,991. If a candidate doesn’t have this then the convention becomes contested.
Bloomberg didn’t need to come close to 1,991, he just needed to siphon off enough delegates so that no other candidate would be able to either.
In years past, superdelegates — senior or former Democratic leaders, including former presidents and lawmakers — were able to vote on the first ballot at the convention, allowing candidates who had a plurality of delegates to capture the nomination on the first ballot.
However, due to a push by Sanders and other lawmakers after the 2016 convention, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) made a rule change that prohibits superdelegates from voting until the second ballot.
If no candidate secures the nomination after the first ballot, then the convention would become brokered and move to a second ballot. This was Bloomberg’s window of opportunity. After the first ballot, pledged delegates — delegates won in the primaries — are able to freely change their votes and superdelegates would then be able to cast ballots as well.
Bloomberg would have then hoped that enough delegates were disenfranchised with both Biden and Sanders and switch their vote to him.
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However, brokered conventions are exceedingly rare in modern U.S. politics. The last brokered convention for both parties was in 1952 when Adlai Stevenson won the Democratic nomination and Dwight Eisenhower the Republican nomination.
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Bloomberg’s chances were dashed further after Klobuchar and Buttigieg withdrew from the race at the beginning of the week, further consolidating the moderate Democratic vote for Biden.
Show me the money
Despite his chances from the onset, Bloomberg did possess something that every political campaign covets: a nearly infinite source of money.
Worth over $60 billion, Bloomberg announced early in his run that he would be completely funding his campaign from his personal fortune.
During his 101-day run, Bloomberg spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising in Super Tuesday states and built an impressive nationwide campaign of over 2,000 staffers.
According to analysis from Advertising Analytics, the former New York mayor spent more than $550 million on his campaign.
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Specifically, Bloomberg targeted California and Texas, the two Super Tuesday states with the highest delegate counts. He spent $73.5 million and $54.1 million in the two states, respectively.
In total, he spent more $200 million dollars on ads in Super Tuesday states. Broken down further, Bloomberg paid more than $4 million for each of the 44 delegates that he earned on Tuesday.
Julia Manchester contributed to this report, which was updated at 3:55 p.m.