Less than 24 hours after news broke that South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was suspending his presidential campaign, the Democratic candidate field continues to thin. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has ended her bid for the White House and will endorse Joe Biden tonight in Texas.
Klobuchar saw a spike of hope for her campaign, which had always been a bit of a longshot, when she finished better than expected in the Iowa caucuses and experienced a slight “Klobusurge” in her chances at the nom. But following poor showings in both the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary, Klobuchar had no clear path to the nomination.
Another issue, aside from the votes for Klobuchar, was cash. Her opponents routinely and drastically outraised her and she didn’t have the same organization or funds to keep up a national campaign, as she barely made it through South Carolina. Funds, of course, weren’t the issue for another DOA candidate who also dropped out last weekend, Tom Steyer (yes he was still in it).
While we theorized that Buttigieg’s exit from the race may have been a bid to consolidate moderate support behind Joe Biden (and against Bernie Sanders), the reasoning is far more clear for Klobuchar, who is actually endorsing Biden in a few hours. Klobuchar has campaigned on a message of midwestern values and party unity that didn’t connect on a larger scale with voters but may be useful when making an endorsement.
This leaves only two women left in the race that once boasted five viable female candidates for the highest office in the land (and also Marianne Williamson). Yes, two. Tulsi Gabbard is still technically in the race, but her chance at the candidacy is over (if it ever began). That leaves Elizabeth Warren as the real last woman standing, against three white men born in the 40s.
Will Klobuchar’s endorsement make a difference for Biden or will her supporters go elsewhere? Elizabeth Warren was at one point the most popular second choice of all, so this could help her. With Buttigieg out as well, that’s left the chances for a candidate to win the plurality of delegates up in the air and made the future very uncertain going into Super Tuesday tomorrow.
While we may not have agreed with much from Klobuchar, it was refreshing to see so many women in the race with varied platforms and backgrounds, and in that way, her candidacy made a difference.
(via: CNN)
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