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Bernie Sanders on Wednesday announced that he is exiting the Democratic presidential race, in a move that leaves Joe Biden as the last man standing in a contest that once had more than two dozen contenders.
“I think you know the truth, and that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden, and the path toward victory is virtually impossible,” said Sanders in a webcast that he started by thanking his supporters.
“I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful. And so today, I am announcing the suspension of my campaign.”
Just two months ago, Wall Street analysts were warning about a potential drop for stocks SPX, +2.18% DJIA, +2.17% if Sanders, a democratic socialist, continued to lead in polls and perform well in the fight to become the Democratic nominee challenging President Donald Trump in November.
But Biden re-emerged as the front-runner in the party’s White House race about a month ago, powered by primary wins in South Carolina and the Super Tuesday states. Sanders — Vermont’s junior senator and a fundraising juggernaut — had been facing calls to drop out in recent weeks.
After the announcement from Sanders, Biden praised his exiting rival for bringing attention to issues such as income inequality, universal health care, climate change, free college and student-loan debt.
“Senator Sanders and his supporters have changed the dialogue in America,” Biden said in a Medium post on Wednesday. “Issues which had been given little attention — or little hope of ever passing — are now at the center of the political debate.”
Related: Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary — Biden says he’s ‘done well,’ with results not expected until Monday
A centerpiece of the Sanders campaign was his “Medicare for All” plan that doesn’t have a role for private insurers. Biden and other more centrist 2020 Democrats argued in their debates for keeping private insurance as part of the U.S. health-care system.
Sanders on Wednesday said some supporters may want him to “fight on to the last ballot cast at the Democratic convention.” But given the coronavirus crisis, he said he “cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour.”
At the same time, the independent lawmaker said he will continue to amass delegates in order to “exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions.”
“While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not,” Sanders also said in Wednesday’s webcast. “The fight for justice is what our movement remains about. Today, I congratulate Joe Biden, a very decent man who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward.”
