Buttigieg drops out of 2020 presidential race

Pete Buttigieg, Democratic presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, is dropping his presidential campaign, the New York Times reported Sunday evening.

The decision comes after a severe loss in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Feb. 29, with Buttigieg coming in fourth place, amassing only 8.2% of the vote and receiving no delegates.

Buttigieg officially began his presidential campaign last April with an announcement in South Bend. He is expected to officially announce his quitting the race at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night at the Century Center in South Bend, forgoing a previously-planned rally in Dallas.

After establishing himself as a leading contender for the Democratic nomination with a narrow victory in the Iowa caucus, Buttigieg's momentum waned in Nevada, where he finished third.

Buttigieg's slip in support has been widely attributed to his failure to build a broad base of support among black and Latino voters. Exit polls in South Carolina show 3% of black voters supported Buttigieg, according to The New York Times.

Buttigieg served as mayor of South Bend from 2012 to 2020. A South Bend native, his parents — Joseph Buttigieg and Jennifer Anne Montgomery — were professors at Notre Dame. Joseph Buttigieg passed away in January 2019.

Buttigieg came out as gay in 2015, and in 2017, announced that he was engaged to school teacher Chasten Glezman, now his husband. The couple married in June 2018. Buttigieg is both the first openly gay elected official to serve in Indiana, and the first openly gay major presidential candidate.

Buttigieg's departure from the presidential race comes a day after former hedge-fund executive Tom Steyer announced his own departure after a similar finish in South Carolina.

With Buttigieg and Steyer out of the race, the Democratic field narrows to six candidates for the upcoming ”Super Tuesday“ on March 3, when 14 states will hold their primary elections.