Breaking news from the campaign trail: progressive candidate Elizabeth Warren has dropped out of the race for the presidential nomination. This comes after her poor performance in key Super Tuesday contests.
A staffer close to Warren told reporters of the decision Thursday morning, amid rumors swirling that the candidate was considering dropping out.
By exiting the race, Warren leaves the frontrunners, fellow progressive Bernie Sanders and moderate centrist Joe Biden, as the two favorites to win the nomination. Many criticized Warren’s decision to stay in the race through Super Tuesday following her third-place finish in Iowa, fourth-place finish in New Hampshire and Nevada, and embarrassing fifth-place finish in South Carolina.
Warren must bow out due to her failure to attract a large enough number of voters to have a realistic path to the nomination. Damningly, she was unable to garner many votes in her home state of Massachusetts, where she came in third place behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
This, coupled with numerous losses in key Super Tuesday states kept Warren’s pledged delegate count low. It would take a minor miracle for her to pull together enough support to get the nomination by the time of the Democratic Convention this summer.
Warren’s downfall was tied to being in political limbo following the exits of Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. They were two moderate candidates who endorsed Biden following their departure from the race.
Moderate voters were unconvinced that Warren’s progressive policies would work. Progressives, meanwhile, were unconvinced that Warren was the real deal.
Many progressives see Warren as a “spoiler” to Sanders’ campaign. Meanwhile, moderates are rallying behind Biden. Warren was unable to garner a significant enough number of votes. She no longer had a realistic chance of securing the Democratic nomination.
As a part of reputation management, perhaps, Warren’s concession hands a significant advantage to ally and fellow progressive Sanders.
Warren’s decision to stick in the race until Super Tuesday may have had an impact on Sanders’ performance. The two candidates have remarkably similar platforms and appeal to the same voting demographic.
However, Mike Bloomberg’s campaign’s effect on Biden might have lessened the severity of the Sanders/Warren divide. Bloomberg also announced yesterday that he was dropping out.
Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, was running on a moderate platform. His presence pulled votes away from Biden, who now leads the race in pledged delegates.
However, with both Bloomberg and Warren bowing out of the race, the contest between Sanders and Biden could become very tight.
