Mike Bloomberg’s campaign field office in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty still smelled of fresh paint Wednesday.
Two large stacks of political yard signs leaned against a wall in the office, which opened Sunday. Bloomberg was expected to stop there Thursday.
Now, after a not-so-super showing in the Super Tuesday primaries, Bloomberg is out of the race — at least as a candidate. His sole win came in American Samoa.
“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,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
Bloomberg, a multibillionaire and former New York City mayor, said he would remain involved.
“And so while I will not be the nominee, I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life,” Bloomberg said in his statement.
Bloomberg’s scheduled Thursday visit to Pittsburgh was canceled following his withdrawal from the race, said Rosie Lapowsky, deputy communications director for Bloomberg’s Pennsylvania operations.
Bloomberg is the latest former Democratic presidential candidate to back Biden. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota threw their support behind Biden after ending their campaigns before Super Tuesday.
“The center-left and the establishment (wings of the Democratic Party) ended up rallying around Biden in a huge way,” said G. Terry Madonna, a political scientist from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.
Madonna called Biden a favorite to win the Democratic nomination, but said there are still plenty of primaries left, including April 28 in Pennsylvania, which could be a factor in deciding the race this year.
“The race changes so quickly,” added Philip Harold, an associate dean and political science professor at Robert Morris University in Moon.
“We’re going to see how Biden responds to that pressure,” Harold said of the former vice president emerging as a front-runner. “I think with his history, there are going to be gaffes, there are going to be questions. Next week we could have a very different scenario.”
