With Super Tuesday looming, the field of candidates for the Democrat presidential nominee has dwindled again as former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and far-left billionaire Tom Steyer announced that they were dropping out of the race this weekend.
Buttigieg, a complete unknown nationally until he announced his presidential run on April 14 of last year, ends his candidacy as the first openly homosexual man to seriously contend for a major party’s nomination. The 38-year-old made some early noise by winning an extremely close Iowa caucus and finishing second in the New Hampshire primary. But a disappointing fourth-place finish in South Carolina on Saturday, along with grim prospects for tomorrow’s Super Tuesday races, caused Buttigieg to withdraw from the race.
Buttigieg called for unity among Democrats going forward.
“The truth is the path has narrowed to a close for our candidacy if not our cause,” Buttigieg told supporters in South Bend on Sunday. “We must recognize that at this point in the race, the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and our country together.”
While Buttigieg called for party unity, he stopped short of endorsing any of his fellow contenders, although he and Joe Biden did exchange voicemails on Sunday. In today’s Democrat Party, Buttigieg is considered a moderate and his supporters are likely to shift to Biden. Buttigieg has repeatedly warned that selecting the socialist Sanders could not only lose the presidency for Democrats, but hamper down-ballot races as well.
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On CNN last week, Buttigieg referred to a possible Sanders ticket as “risky.” “I think it’s a terrible risk to take in an election we absolutely dare not lose,” Buttigieg told a CNN panel after the South Carolina debate.
Following the Nevada caucuses, which were won by Sanders, Buttigieg offered this take on what a Sanders ticket might mean to the country: “Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans.”
Buttigieg was running as a common-sense Democrat, but he still touted a Medicare for All plan and promised to spend a great deal of taxpayer money to combat the made-up menace of anthropogenic climate change.
Mayor Pete had been trying to cast himself as anti-Bernie Sanders. While his message of unity might resonate with some, the timing of his withdrawal is curious. With Super Tuesday only a day away, why not see how you do before dropping out? After all, Buttigieg won Iowa, albeit barely, and did well in New Hampshire.
Perhaps, and this is pure speculation, Biden may have offered Buttigieg a deal. A cabinet position, or possibly the vice presidency?
Steyer’s withdrawal was more expected, as the billionaire hedge-fund manager was a longshot, at best. Steyer’s campaign put a lot of eggs into the basket that was South Carolina — having spent close to $24 million on ads in the state — but only finished a disappointing third with only 11.3 percent of the vote, well behind Biden and Sanders.
“I said if I didn’t see a path to winning, that I’d suspend my campaign,” Steyer told supporters on Saturday. “And honestly, I can’t see a path where I can win the presidency.”
Steyer had not earned a single delegate in Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada. His failure in South Carolina, despite massive spending and the largest on-the-ground staff of any candidate in the state, signaled the end for his campaign.
The billionaire first gained a national profile by spending $120 million in 2018 during the midterms in his “Need to Impeach” initiative, which sought to remove President Trump from office.
Steyer’s campaign was built largely on a socialist agenda. The billionaire planned to combat so-called wealth inequality and focus his time in office largely on climate change had he been elected. Steyer also looked to “reform” the electoral system by initiating term limits and offering national referendums as an option to voters.
And now there are four candidates left — five if you count Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). The remaining serious candidates are New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who will first be included in the primaries on Super Tuesday; gaffe machine and former Vice President Joe Biden; Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose prospects seem to fading; and Senator Bernie Sanders, the far-left “savior” whose “Bernie Bros” are energized and looking for a fight.
And remember, there’s someone in the wings possibly looking for a chance to crash the party.
Up until now, the Democrat race has been something of a clown show — a n oddity that could be looked upon with a mix of bemusement and horror. Super Tuesday’s results could fix that, but it’s likely that the contest will go on, a battle for the soul of the Democrat Party. Will they continue to be the liberal opposition party to the GOP, or will they go full-on socialist?
Photo: AP Images
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects, with a primary focus on the ongoing anthropogenic climate-change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected]
