Former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg has decided to drop out of the presidential race, according to campaign aides.
The decision comes after a poor showing in the South Carolina primary, in which Buttigieg won just over 8 percent of the vote. Former vice president Joe Biden won the popular vote in every county in the state, after getting an endorsement from South Carolina kingmaker, Representative James Clyburn. Buttigieg received the support of just 3 percent of black voters in the state, raising doubts as to whether he could build a broad coalition in the Democratic presidential race.
Buttigieg cancelled a rally in Dallas, Texas, scheduled for Sunday night and announced he was returning instead to South Bend.
“So a little bit of news for you about our flight,” Buttigieg said in comments reported by the New York Times. “We’re making a change in our travel plans and traveling to South Bend rather than to Texas. We’re going to be making an announcement there about the future of the campaign, and we are looking forward to sharing with our supporters and with the country where we’re going from here.”
Buttigieg emerged as the winner of the Iowa caucuses after inching past Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) as final results were tallied. However, the former mayor’s campaign failed to gain traction in subsequent states, and polling averages at RealClearPolitics showed Buttigieg at most in third place among Super Tuesday states.
Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer dropped out of the race on Saturday night. With the addition of Buttigieg, the remaining candidates are Sanders, Biden, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.