Pete Buttigieg to pull out of Democratic race for White House
Washington (CNN)Pete Buttigieg will end his campaign for President on Sunday, multiple aides tell CNN, ending an unlikely campaign that vaulted the once-unknown mayor from South Bend, Indiana, to a top presidential contender.
Buttigieg was scheduled to fly from Selma, Alabama, to Dallas, Texas, but during the flight he informed reporters that he would be flying back to his hometown of South Bend to make an announcement on the future of his campaign.
That announcement, aides said, is that he is ending his run.
Buttigieg made the decision on Sunday, aides said, after he struggled to compete in South Carolina’s primary and had little path toward success on Super Tuesday.
“He believes this is the right thing to do right now for our country and the country to heal this divided nation and defeat President Trump,” the aide said.
The aide added: “He decided that now was the time and, I think that is exactly why he is getting out. He believes this is the right thing to do.”
Buttigieg broke barriers by becoming the first gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates for a major party’s nomination.
But Buttigieg’s campaign struggled to nationalize its operation after success in Iowa and New Hampshire. The former mayor’s struggles to win over voters of color, a key base to the Democratic Party, proved insurmountable in Nevada and South Carolina, two states where Buttigieg finished significantly behind the race’s frontrunners. And the mayor’s lack of momentum heading into Super Tuesday sunk the upstart campaign.
The mayor’s top advisers believed that a win in Iowa could provide Buttigieg with enough momentum to turn in strong performances in both New Hampshire and Nevada. That success, they believed, would be followed by a fundraising boost, allowing them to nationalize the campaign by the time Super Tuesday rolled around in early March.
