By Gian Capolino
Staff Reporter
Following underwhelming performances in the “Super Tuesday” primaries held across the country on March 3, both Senator Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have dropped out of the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination.
Elizabeth Warren ends her campaign after failing to finish better than third in any of the 18 primaries that have been held so far, including in her home state of Massachusetts, according to the Associated Press.
Warren centered her campaign around having detailed plans for just about every issue, and often planned to pay for her new plans by significantly increasing taxes on the rich, which includes a controversial wealth tax, which some claimed is unconstitutional.
“It’s not a surprise to see Elizabeth Warren drop out at this point. She was virtually eliminated from the competition anyway after such a poor performance on Super Tuesday,” said sophomore Ryan Silverstein. “She never really had much of a lane in this primary anyway. At first, she was attempting to take over the progressive lane from her friend Bernie Sanders, but when her support began to tank, she changed her approach. After starting off the primary without attacking Bernie Sanders, Warren accused him of being a sexist when her support began to tank, and obviously this strategy didn’t work out too well.”
One of the most memorable parts of the primary season so far came when Warren accused her friend, Senator Bernie Sanders, of telling her that a woman could not win the White House during the 2016 election season. Sanders vehemently denied these accusations, and this created significant tension between Sanders and Warren ever since.
Since dropping out, Warren has yet to endorse either Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden. Warren is much closer in alignment with Sanders in terms of policy proposals, but after announcing her exit from the race, Warren told reporters that she would take some time before deciding to endorse one of the remaining candidates.
Warren reportedly spoke to both Sanders and Biden after dropping out of the race, and it is possible that she is weighing her options in terms of cabinet, or even vice presidential positions that may have been offered to her by Sanders or Biden.
Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg also exited the race for the Democratic nomination after a poor showing on Super Tuesday.
After spending over $500 million dollars of his own money on the campaign, Bloomberg walked away with only one primary victory, American Samoa.
Bloomberg entered the race in late November and chose not to campaign in Iowa and other early primary states, focusing his attention purely on Super Tuesday states and beyond. This bold and unconventional strategy was ultimately unsuccessful for the Bloomberg campaign.
The other Democratic candidates were immediately very critical of Bloomberg entering the race, as he is a former Republican and like President Donald Trump, is a very wealthy businessman from New York City.
Bloomberg claimed he entered the race because he felt the other candidates were not strong enough to defeat Donald Trump, which was his ultimate goal. Bloomberg focused on gun control and climate change, among other issues.
After dropping out of the race after Super Tuesday, Bloomberg quickly endorsed Joe Biden. According to the Associated Press, Bloomberg has pledged that in order to defeat Donald Trump, he will continue to spend his own money on the election.
With Warren and Bloomberg now out of the race, along with fellow competitors Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer, the race for the nomination has turned into a two-man fight between Sanders and Biden.
Biden is currently leading significantly in the delegate count, but Sanders has made it clear that he and the progressive wing of the party will fight for the nomination until the process is entirely over.
