Ex-Democratic Presidential Hopeful Beto O'Rourke Endorses Joe Biden

On Monday, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and US senator from Minnesota, Democrat Amy Klobuchar announced they are going to endorse Joe Biden as the Democratic Party candidate for President, media reported.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke endorsed Joe Biden's presidential bid at his rally in Dallas Monday night,

"Tomorrow, 3 March 2020, I will be casting my ballot for Joe Biden. And let me tell you why: We need somebody who can beat Donald Trump", he said.

Earlier in the day, the New York Times reported, citing two Democratic officials familiar with the matter, that O'Rourke would endorse Joe Baiden in his run for the presidency of the United States.

The three Democrats, who pulled out of the contest, will support Joe Biden against his rival Bernie Sanders, the report says.

According to the news outlet, upon dropping out of the race, Beto O’Rourke has returned to his native El Paso and did not participate in the campaign.

There are now five Democrats left in the competition to be the party's nominee to face Republican Donald Trump in November's presidential election: former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, and Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard.

Following the early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, US Senator Bernie Sanders was in the lead with 56 pledged delegates to Biden's 50. However, Klobuchar and Buttigieg’s endorsements mean that Biden will likely pocket more than 30 delegates. Yet there is still a long way to go - a candidate must secure at least 1,991 pledged delegates in order to win the party nomination ahead of the convention.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at his South Carolina primary night rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., February 29, 2020.

© REUTERS / JONATHAN ERNST

Five of the 14 states holding contests - California, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts - combined make up 70 percent of the 1,344 delegates at stake on Tuesday. Recent polling shows Sanders leading in California, Texas, Virginia, and Massachusetts while Biden is leading in North Carolina.

If no candidate can secure a majority of the delegates, the nominee must be decided upon by what is called a 'brokered' convention, when some 775 unpledged or 'superdelegates' weigh in to choose the party nominee. The Democratic National Convention will be held on 13-16 July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.