MINNEAPOLIS _ Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced Monday that she is ending her 2020 White House bid and endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trailing in the delegate race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the three-term senator from Minnesota pulled herself out of contention after a series of disappointing showings in the early caucuses and primaries.
Though buoyed by strong debate performances and a surprising third-place finish in New Hampshire on Feb. 11, Klobuchar failed to break into the top ranks of a crowded Democratic field, even as she outlasted several other better-known rivals.
Klobuchar's central message of pragmatism and unity won her respect with pundits and newspaper editorial boards across the nation, including the New York Times, but her campaign failed to inspire a consensus among Democrats outside Minnesota, the only state where she was considered a top contender.
Democrats looking for the ideological antithesis of President Donald Trump have flocked to democratic socialist Bernie Sanders; while those looking for what they see as a more electable moderate have gravitated in greater numbers to better funded rivals such as former Vice President Joe Biden.
Widely regarded as potentially strong general election contender against Trump, Klobuchar's centrist positions against Medicare for All and a Green New Deal put her out of step with the activist base that is more influential in party primaries and caucuses.
Klobuchar focused heavily on neighboring Iowa, but finished a disappointing fifth in the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses. Her strong showing in New Hampshire helped spark a $12 million fundraising spike, but her resources were stretched thin as the race spread to coast to coast on Super Tuesday, with voters in 14 states, including Minnesota, voting on March 3.
After sixth place finishes in Nevada and South Carolina, states with larger minority populations than her native Minnesota, Klobuchar faced calls to exit the race and coalesce around a centrist alternative to Sanders, whose momentum has alarmed more traditional Democrats intent on defeating Trump in November.
