Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg decided to announce that he would be suspending his campaign prior to the all-important Super Tuesday primaries that will be held in 14 states in an effort to stop the momentum of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and prevent him from gaining an “insurmountable” lead in the delegate count, according to Jim Sciutto of CNN:

The biggest beneficiary of Buttigieg’s withdrawal from the Democratic field is likely to be another moderate, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is coming off a big win in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, far outpacing Sanders by 28 points. Buttigieg came in a disappointing fourth in South Carolina.

In announcing that he would no longer be seeking the nomination on Sunday evening, Buttigieg told a group of supporters:

“We have a responsibility to concede the effect of remaining in this race any further. Our goal has always been to help unify Americans to defeat Donald Trump and to win the era for our values.”

While the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, didn’t endorse any of the remaining candidates, his policy positions seem more in line with those of Biden. Both have criticized a Medicare for All plan being touted by Sen. Sanders and noted that if Sanders is the nominee, Democrats in House and Senate races could be in danger of losing if they’re associated with an admitted “democratic socialist” such a as the Vermont Senator, CNN reports:

“Buttigieg signaled throughout the final weeks of his campaign that he was aware the race was coming to a close. As Buttigieg warned supporters against nominating Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his ‘inflexible, ideological revolution,’ his campaign released a memo days later worrying that Sanders could enjoy a ‘seemingly insurmountable delegate lead’ after the Super Tuesday contests.”

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