Pete Buttigieg – former mayor of South Bend, Indiana – ended his campaign for President on Sunday night.
"We must recognize that at this point in the race the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and our country together. So tonight, I am making the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency,” Buttigieg announced in South Bend.
He then added, "We have a responsibility to concede the effect of remaining in this race any further. Our goal has always been to help unify Americans to defeat Donald Trump and to win the era for our values."
Buttigieg's run was highly important for the U.S. history. As the first openly gay man to launch a competitive presidential campaign, he paved the way for LGBTQ-inclusiveness in future elections. Former South Bend Mayor’s bid was a rather promising one: Buttigieg faced unexpected yet remarkable success in both Iowa and New Hampshire, proving to be a formidable force for other moderates to take on.
"He believes this is the right thing to do right now for our country and the country to heal this divided nation and defeat President Trump," the aide commented on Mayor Pete’s decision to drop out prior to Super Tuesday, when fifteen jurisdictions are holding primaries.
While Buttigieg has not endorsed any other candidate so far, his decision clearly serves as an attempt to consolidate the moderate vote before two-thirds of the party’s delegates are distributed.