WASHINGTON, March 3 (Bernama) — One day after dropping out of the Democratic primary race, Pete Buttigieg said he is delighted to endorse Joe Biden to be the next US president.
According to Sputnik news agency, the announcement came on the eve of “Super Tuesday” – the biggest voting day of the Democratic presidential primary race – with fourteen states holding elections and 1,344 delegates at stake – about one-third of the total.
“I am delighted to endorse and support Joe Biden as president,” Buttigieg said alongside the former vice president at a rally in Dallas, Texas on Monday.
Earlier in the day, US Senator Amy Klobuchar in a statement said she would suspend her campaign and endorse Biden.
Following the early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, US Senator Bernie Sanders was in the lead with 56 pledged delegates to Biden’s 50. However, Klobuchar and Buttigieg’s endorsements mean that Biden will likely pocket more than 30 delegates. Yet there is still a long way to go – a candidate must secure at least 1,991 pledged delegates to win the party nomination ahead of the convention.
Five of the 14 states holding contests – California, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts – combined, makeup 70 percent of the 1,344 delegates at stake on Tuesday. Recent polling shows Sanders leading in California, Texas, Virginia, and Massachusetts while Biden is leading in North Carolina.
If no candidate can secure a majority of the delegates, the decision must come through what is called a “brokered” convention when some 775 unpledged or “superdelegates” weigh in to choose a party nominee.
The Democratic National Convention will be held on July 13-16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Source : BERNAMA