Billionaire Mike Bloomberg drops out of Democratic presidential race, endorses Joe Biden

NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire Mike Bloomberg is dropping out of Democratic presidential race and endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden.

It was a stunning collapse for the former New York City mayor, who had pinned his 2020 hopes on the Super Tuesday states and drained more than $500 million from his own fortune into his ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

Bloomberg announced his departure Wednesday after a disappointing finish on Super Tuesday in the slate of states that account for almost one-third of the total delegates available in the Democratic nominating contest. Bloomberg came out of Super Tuesday with only one victory: American Samoa.

Some of his former Democratic rivals had coalesced around Biden as the moderate alternative to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. After yesterday’s vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden," Bloomberg said.