Buttigieg To Endorse Biden At Rally Ahead Of Super Tuesday

Pete Buttigieg is poised to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Dallas later Monday, according to multiple people familiar with the plans.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ended his presidential bid on Sunday and is poised to appear with Senator Amy Klobuchar, who ended her own campaign earlier Monday and quickly announced plans to be in Dallas to back Biden.

Spokespeople for the Biden campaign and for Buttigieg didn't immediately return requests for comment. The people familiar with the plans spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the evolving plans.

In an interview with CBS News earlier Monday, Biden said he had spoken to Buttigieg and encouraged him to "stay engaged," but said he had not asked for his endorsement. 

Buttigieg and Klobuchar's endorsements come amid perhaps the most fluid two days so far in the 14-month Democratic presidential race, as the moderate or establishment win of the party seeks to quickly coalesce behind Biden. The former vice president's decisive victory in the South Carolina primary on Saturday was seen as a strong signal that African Americans, the most loyal bloc of Democratic voters, strongly prefer him to emerge as the party's choice.

Specific details of the Dallas event with Biden, Klobuchar and Buttigieg weren't immediately available.

Texas is one of 14 states going to the polls on Tuesday, the most important day of the primary calendar. A CBS News Battleground Tracker poll conducted last week found Senator Bernie Sanders held a four-point lead over Biden in the Lonestar State, where 228 delegates are at stake.

First published on March 2, 2020 / 4:17 PM

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