Former Democratic Presidential Candidates Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar To Endorse Joe Biden At Dallas Rally
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Former Vice President Joe Biden is bringing some fresh support to his campaign rally at 7:30 p.m. at Gilley's Dallas Monday.
Amy Klobuchar, who ended her Democratic presidential campaign on Monday, and Pete Buttigieg, who ended his on Sunday, plan to endorse Biden in an effort to unify moderate voters behind the former vice president's White House bid.
Both are flying to Dallas to join Biden at his rally, according to their campaigns.
Texans, along with voters in 13 other states, cast ballots in the primaries on Super Tuesday, March 3.
Biden is coming off a convincing victory in South Carolina on Saturday. It was his first primary victory.
Klobuchar was the third presidential candidate to drop out of the race in less than 49 hours, following Pete Buttigieg's departure late Sunday and Tom Steyer's exit late Saturday.
Their decisions reflect an urgent push among moderates to consolidate behind Biden as a counter to progressive rival Bernie Sanders.
Klobuchar outlasted several better-known and better-funded Democrats, thanks to a better-than-expected third-place finish in in New Hampshire.
But she couldn't turn that into success elsewhere, as she struggled to build out a campaign that could compete across the country and had poor showings in the next contests.
Bernie Sanders' senior strategist Jeff Weaver dismissed the importance of the new coalition, which he said would help highlight the divide between the true progressive wing of the party and those in the establishment.
"It's becoming increasingly clear that the candidates funded by big money and super PACs are coalescing behind Joe Biden, and that's not a surprise," Weaver said. "I think it'll add a lot of clarity to this race."
The Biden campaign reported back-to-back days of $5 million fundraising hauls, by far the best 48-hour stretch of his campaign.
Biden himself touted the threshold Sunday night on a call with donors, according to one person on the call.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
