Democrats set for Sanders vs Biden showdown as Warren drops out of race

The US is likely to approach this election with no female presidential candidate

[File] Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren arrives to participate in the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Charleston | AFP [File] Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren arrives to participate in the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Charleston | AFP

On Thursday, senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts pulled out of the Democratic primaries, effectively turning the race for the Democratic nomination into a two-way contest between former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.  

CNN reported that Warren broke the news in a staff call to her campaign workers. 

“I wanted you all to hear it first, and I wanted you to hear it straight from me: Today, I'm suspending our campaign for president," Warren was reported as saying. 

"I know that when we set out, this was not the call you ever wanted to hear. It is not the call I ever wanted to make. But I refuse to let disappointment blind me—or you—to what we've accomplished. We didn't reach our goal, but what we have done together—what you have done—has made a lasting difference. It's not the scale of the difference we wanted to make, but it matters—and the changes will have ripples for years to come," she was reported as saying.

Warren, who had once pitched herself as “the woman who was going to beat Donald Trump” had campaigned on a platform to tackle state corruption and inequality in the United States. Along with Sanders, Warren helped pull political debate in the US further to the left with promises to tax the wealthy, raise minimum wage and finance Medicare-for-all without raising middle-class taxes.

But, an otherwise popular campaign failed to deliver on Super Tuesday, leaving Warren with just 65 delegates compared to Sander’s 531 and Biden’s 596. Her race, effectively, was over, and with it, the last hopes that the US could elect its first female president (Trump is widely believed to sweep his own party’s primaries, with most delegates likely to stand by him, proving unopposed in most states so far).

A day earlier, Trump—who has been tweeted gleefully every time a Democratic nominee dropped out of the race—blamed Warren for hanging in this far and accused her of costing Bernie Sanders the primaries in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas. 

“Wow! If Elizabeth Warren wasn’t in the race, Bernie Sanders would have EASILY won Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, not to mention various other states. Our modern day Pocahontas won’t go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!”, Trump had tweeted, earlier calling Warren “selfish” for not standing down.

Trump heralded Warren’s announcement to drop out in similar fashion.

“Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, who was going nowhere except into Mini Mike’s head, just dropped out of the Democrat Primary...THREE DAYS TOO LATE. She cost Crazy Bernie, at least, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas. Probably cost him the nomination! Came in third in Mass,” he tweeted. 

The future of Warren’s pledged delegates remains in the air, with both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden vying for her support. Politically and economically, Warren remains closer to Sanders than to Biden, however, as she campaigned on a progressive platform similar to that of Sanders in many aspects. Even so, the need to present a unified democratic  front to challenge Trump could see her favour Biden who is, once again, being seen as the more electable option.

Warren played a big role in knocking billionaire Mike Bloomberg out of the race, as her scathing attacks on him during the last Democratic debates helped set the tone for a mostly anti-Bloomberg night among candidates. Bloomberg, who announced that he was dropping out of the race on Wednesday, has pledged to support Biden.

The real winner from Super Tuesday was Joe Biden, who used the opportunity—when the most number of delegates can be won in a single day—to gain a significant lead over Sanders, after being written off for weeks.

Warren is set to hold a press conference at 12.30 ET in Boston.

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