Bernie Sanders suspends 2020 presidential bid

Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign for president on Wednesday, all but assuring former Vice President Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee to face Donald Trump in November.

Sanders made the announcement in a call with staff Wednesday morning, according to multiple reports. He will address his supporters later Wednesday morning in a livestream, the campaign announced.

Sanders’ decision came after the Vermont senator was dealt a string of disappointing finishes in large, delegate-rich states — effectively eliminating his path to the nomination.

Biden trounced Sanders in Florida, Illinois, and Arizona — the last states to announce results before the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to the primary. Those losses came after Biden won states Sanders carried in 2016, including Michigan and Washington.

A number of states delayed their primaries to later this summer, as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made in-person voting unsafe. Without a contest in a delegate heavy state to help turn the momentum of the race back his way, Sanders’ chances at victory were grim.

Sanders has vowed to help unite Democrats to beat Trump, saying earlier in March that Trump is “the most dangerous president in the modern history of our country, and he must be defeated.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.