March 1, 2020

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is dropping out of the 2020 primary race, presumably to make way for Joe Biden's ascent on Super Tuesday.

Washington Post reports:

Buttigieg’s decision comes shortly before Super Tuesday, the biggest primary day of the year, at a time when the Democratic race shows signs of becoming a race between Sen. Bernie Sanders and former vice president Joe Biden, with Biden occupying a centrist position that Buttigieg had hoped to make his own.

If there was one vulnerability that felled him, it was his inability to win trust or support from black voters, a key pillar of the Democratic coalition.

After a fourth-place finish in South Carolina Saturday — and results that showed he achieved abysmal levels of support with black voters--Buttigieg consulted with his team Saturday night before flying to Georgia to meet with former President Jimmy Carter Sunday. His campaign scheduled a Sunday night call for donors, and did not provide a subject.

In the end, my issue with Pete was the same as it was with Tom Steyer: Going from mayor to president, no matter how smart and savvy one is, involves too much of a learning curve right now. He clearly has a bright political future and should definitely run for statewide office in Indiana, or somewhere else where he can build the kind of coalition he needs to win. But this is not his year, and apparently he agrees.

UPDATE: Video of his speech is now included.

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