Jacob Ogles
Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 Presidential election on Wednesday.
“The path toward victory is virtually impossible,” he said.
“Today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign.”
The Vermont Senator made an online address, viewable on his presidential campaign website.
In the address, he stressed his platform focused on social justice and economic equality.
‘The remaining obstacle to real social change has everything to do with the power of the corporate and political establishment to limit vision from what is possible to what we are entitled to as human beings,” he said.
The exit clear the path for former Vice President Joe Biden, the delegate leader and last remaining major candidate seeking the Democratic nomination.
He leaves a day after refusing to campaign in Wisconsin, where a vote controversially took place despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The exit now stands in contrast to 2016, when Sanders continued a fight past the final primary in California in an effort to increase influence in setting the Democratic National Committee platform.
Sanders ultimately outlasted a field of more than 20 candidates, become the ultimate standard-bearer for the progressive wing of the party. In his message, Sanders laid out a series of proposals on finance, wages, and health care.
“Not too long ago many considered these ideas to be radical and fringe,” he said. “Today they are mainstream.”
Notably, Sanders noted his name will continue to appear on ballots through the primary season. He said continued support for him will increase influence in shaping the Democratic platform at the Democratic National Convention.
But he also stressed the need for the party to unify behind Biden as the nominee.
As a global pandemic strikes the country, Sanders has remained a champion in the U.S. Senate for expanded access to health care. But he’s also had to spend more time legislating, slamming Florida Sen. Rick Scott and other Senators who discussed derailing a coronavirus rescue package over increases to unemployment benefits.
By the time of Florida’s March 17 primary, the field has already narrowed to Biden and Sanders, with Biden easily winning the state with about 62% of the vote.
That came after Sanders made controversial comments on 60 Minutes defending parts of late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro‘s social programs. Those created an uproar among Democratic leaders in South Florida, which has a significant concentration of Cuban immigrants.
