Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar waves to her supporters during a campaign rally at The Depot in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 2, 2020. The Minnesota senator is hoping to fire up voters before Tuesday’s presidential primary. Steve Griffin, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Just hours after visiting Salt Lake City for a rally, Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced she is dropping out of the presidential race and will endorse Joe Biden.
The Minnesota senator announced the decision Monday, calling it quits after a bid that broke briefly into the top tier with a third-place finish in New Hampshire but failed to sustain that energy further into the Democratic nomination fight.
The Klobuchar campaign tells CNN that the senator is flying to Dallas to join former vice president Joe Biden at his rally, where she will officially suspend her campaign and endorse Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday.
During her rally in Salt Lake Monday, Klobuchar called for unity and decency in the White House.
“One thing that unites everyone is that we want to win,” she said to the crowd. “I’ve won every place and every race I’ve been in.”
The three-term senator launched her campaign in a Minnesota snowstorm last February, touting her “grit” and Midwestern sensibilities. But she fell behind and couldn’t compete with her rivals in early fundraising.
Her efforts to own the primary’s moderate lane got tougher when Biden and another Midwesterner, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of Indiana, entered the race.
Buttigieg also suspended his campaign Sunday. The former presidential hopeful is also expected to endorse Biden, according to an adviser to Buttigieg’s campaign.
This story is breaking and will be updated.