Bloomberg drops out of race after less than super Tuesday debut

WASHINGTON • Mr Michael Bloomberg crashed and burned in his presidential primary debut on Super Tuesday, in a dismal performance that prompted the former New York mayor to drop out of the race.

It was an ugly night for the billionaire media tycoon who had entered the nomination race last November with high hopes and deep pockets, injecting a record US$500 million (S$693 million) of his own money in advertising before his name even appeared on a single ballot.

As the candidate who claims he is best positioned to defeat Republican President Donald Trump in November licked his wounds, he released a statement announcing he was suspending his campaign and endorsing former vice-president Joe Biden.

"Three months ago, I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump. Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump - because it is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult," he said.

"After yesterday's results, the delegate maths has become virtually impossible - and a viable path to the nomination no longer exists. "

He added: "I've always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. After yesterday's vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden."

The 78-year-old New Yorker had earlier bristled when asked whether a third place was good enough for him - indicating he considered himself a top three player along with centrist Joe Biden and leftist Bernie Sanders.

But results ultimately showed Mr Bloomberg facing a crushing fourth-place finish in no fewer than five of the 14 Super Tuesday states, including key battleground Virginia where he came up empty after reportedly sinking US$18 million into advertising and ground operations in the state, dozens of times more than what Mr Biden, the winner, invested there.

Mr Bloomberg was projected to win in the remote Pacific island territory of American Samoa, not quite the nation's heartland. He also picked up some delegates in Colorado and early results showed him No. 2 in delegate-rich California.

"Mr Bloomberg spent US$500 million and won American Samoa. Bad business model," one user razzed on Twitter.

The New York billionaire's strategy has been unconventional.

He challenged the party custom of campaigning heavily in the four early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, opting instead for a Super Tuesday splash.

He said: "While my fellow candidates spent a whole year focusing on the first four states, I was out campaigning against Donald Trump in the states where the election will actually be decided."

They include Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. But the current Democratic race is a battle for a majority of the delegates who pick the nominee at the party's national convention in July.

And while Mr Bloomberg picked up some delegates in California, Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, Utah and Oklahoma, he is well short of Mr Sanders and Mr Biden, and narrowly trails Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Mr Bloomberg was dogged by criticism of his past support as mayor of "stop and frisk" - a policy that encouraged police to stop and search pedestrians and ensnared disproportionate numbers of blacks and Latinos. He was also slammed in two Democratic debates for past sexist remarks.

Mr Trump has relentlessly mocked his fellow septuagenarian billionaire, and Tuesday was no different.

"The biggest loser tonight, by far, is Mini Mike Bloomberg," the President tweeted, saying his hundreds of millions of dollars in ads went "down the drain".

"He got nothing for it but the nickname Mini Mike, and the complete destruction of his reputation."

Up until Tuesday, Mr Bloomberg had signalled he intended to compete all the way to the Democratic National Convention, which gathers from July 13 to 16 in Milwaukee.

In doing so, he acknowledged his only real possibility of winning the nomination may be a contested convention where no single candidate arrives with the majority of delegates needed to win outright.

Mr Bryce Grahm, a 22-year-old supporter at Mr Bloomberg's Florida event, called him "the best candidate to get the job done, to economically shift this country, to also win against Trump".

Mr Bloomberg's chances were "slim", Mr Grahm acknowledged. "But it's not looking that bad. He is showing on the board."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS