Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks to supporters at a rally on February 20, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Image by George Frey/Getty Images

By Aiden Pink March 4, 2020

Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg announced Wednesday that he was dropping out of the Democratic presidential race, endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden.

Bloomberg, who spent an estimated $500 million on his campaign, emerged from Super Tuesday having only won the caucus in American Samoa.

“Three months ago, I entered the race to defeat Donald Trump,” he tweeted. “Today, I’m leaving for the same reason. Defeating Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. It’s clear that is my friend and a great American, @JoeBiden.”

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Bloomberg, who is Jewish, said on Tuesday that unlike other moderate candidates, he would not drop out to avoid splitting votes with Biden. “It goes in both directions,” he said. “Have you asked Joe if he’s going to drop out?”

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

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