It takes a lot of ego to run for president. Yet several Democrats in the race, such as Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Mike Bloomberg, and Tom Steyer, have positioned themselves as pragmatic realists running to get things done rather than checking a box on a grandiose bucket list.
Several have now proven their pragmatism by dropping out of the race. After four early primaries, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer have now quit, concluding there’s no plausible chance of winning. All three could have continued, at least for a little while. Buttigieg had funding for several more weeks of campaigning. Klobuchar could have at least stayed in through the March 3 Super Tuesday contests, which probably would have given her a win in her home state of Minnesota. Steyer is (or was) a self-funding billionaire who has already spent money on TV ads beyond his quit date.
Quitting before Super Tuesday was a rational thing for each of them to do. It raises the odds that Joe Biden, now the strongest representative of the moderate wing each of them claimed to represent, will wrestle the nomination from leftist Bernie Sanders. Sanders has become the frontrunner not because he’s winning all the votes. Moderates are getting considerably more votes than Sanders and the like-minded Elizabeth Warren. But moderates have been splitting a majority of the Democratic vote among several candidates, leaving Sanders with a plurality. Had the three dropouts stayed in through Super Tuesday, it would have been harder still for Biden to consolidate the moderate vote.
It’s also served the self-interest of the three dropouts to quit while it might still benefit Biden. Buttigieg and Klobuchar will now reportedly endorse the former vice president, beginning the sort of consolidation process party stalwarts have been pleading for. That will put the also-rans in Biden’s good graces should he become the nominee, and win. Cabinet posts may await. Klobuchar is qualified to be attorney general. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old whiz kid, could gain needed experience as secretary of housing, labor or homeland security.
Big questions remain about the pragmatic sensibilities of two other candidates who can still affect the race: Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren. Bloomberg casts himself as a drama-free businessman who solves problems with reason and data. Will he address his own presidential candidacy the same way? If he does, he has to assess the likelihood that he is now the largest barrier preventing Biden from beating Sanders. Biden and Bloomberg both oppose Sanders’ revolutionary agenda, saying they want to solve problems rather than upend government and society. They’re chasing the same voters, and if Bloomberg can start hitting the 15% threshold required to win delegates, he’ll be taking them directly from Biden, continuing the split among moderates hoping to beat Sanders.