Bloomberg ends bid and backs Biden to beat President Trump
LOS ANGELES: Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ended his presidential campaign yesterday and said he was backing Joe Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump in the November election.
Endorsing Biden, Bloomberg said: "I will work to make him the next president of the United States."
His exit ended a novel strategy, a vast experiment in political advertising, as Bloomberg, 78, skipped the four early-voting states and instead focused on the 14-state Super Tuesday contest. His only win came in the U.S. territory of American Samoa.
A resurgent Biden has now set up a one-on-one battle against Mr Bernie Sanders.
Mr Biden, the former vice-president whose campaign was on life support just weeks ago, won nine of 14 states on Super Tuesday, including a surprise win in Texas.
Just days after his campaign was resurrected by a thumping win in South Carolina, Mr Biden, 77, emerged as a consensus champion for the moderate wing of the party against Mr Sanders, 78, a left-wing senator with strong support among the youth.
"For those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign," Mr Biden told roaring supporters in Los Angeles.
"We are very much alive!"
In what would be the day's biggest upset, Mr Biden was projected to have won Texas, the biggest prize after California.
Mr Sanders invested heavily in Texas and was counting on its Latino population to propel him to victory. He won California, Colorado, Utah and his home state of Vermont.
Mr Biden, with overwhelming support from African-American, moderate and older voters, swept to wins in Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia.
Besides Mr Bloomberg, it was also a tough night for Senator Elizabeth Warren, who finished well behind Mr Biden and Mr Sanders.- REUTERS
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