Bernie Sanders DROPS OUT of Democratic race leaving Joe Biden to go head-to-head with Donald Trump

Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday that he was suspending his presidential campaign.

He made the announcement on an all-staff conference call and then informed the press. 

‘The future of this country is with our ideas,’ Sanders told supporters via livestream.  

The race had been over for the Vermont senator since he lost Michigan to former Vice President Joe Biden in mid-March.

Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, saw his fortunes rise and then fall over the course of the Democratic primaries, which kicked off in early February.

Sanders had a strong performance in the first three races. 

In Iowa, he tied Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, though the bigger story out of the Hawkeye State was an app malfunction that led to widespread reporting delays of the caucus results. 

Sanders, Buttigieg and the rest of the 2020 contenders had moved on to New Hampshire by the time the results were finally reported. 

In the Granite State, Sanders again benefitted from his next-door-neighbor status, winning the state, but only by 1.3 points over Buttigieg. Sen. Amy Klobuchar came in third. 

It was in Nevada where Sanders cemented his frontrunner status. 

He received 46.8 per cent of the vote in the caucus state, showing strength with Democratic Latino voters. 

But Joe Biden finished in the top two for the first time – telling his supporters this was enough momentum for him to stay in the race. 

South Carolina changed everything for both Biden and Sanders. 

In the Palmetto State, Biden won with the help of the important endorsement of Rep. Jim Clyburn, Congress’ most powerful black lawmaker. And Biden beat Sanders by a commanding 28.5 points.  

From there, Biden had all the momentum in the race – quickly snapping up endorsements from Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke, who had dropped out of the race previously. 

On Super Tuesday, which took place three days later, Biden snapped up 11 of the 14 states that voted. 

Sanders’ biggest prize, California, wasn’t called until the narrative was already set: Biden was again the frontrunner. 

A week later, when Michigan voted as part of Super Tuesday II, Sanders lost his last, best chance of eating into Biden’s delegate lead. 

Neither Biden nor Sanders have been able to actively campaign since the Super Tuesday races due to the coronavirus crisis. 

Sanders was first to utilize livestream campaigning – holding coronavirus-themed events, usually with a musical guest also performing, which was typical for his campaign. 

Biden was slower to adapt, but now has a television and livestream set up in his recreation room at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.  

On Tuesday, Wisconsin Republicans made voters in that state vote amid the pandemic.