(FOX NEWS) — Pete Buttigieg told supporters he's ending his presidential campaign on Sunday, according to a report from Fox News, in an abrupt and surprising pullout that further narrows the field of Democrats less than a month after he declared victory in the contested Iowa caucuses.
Buttigieg had been scheduled to headline a rally in Dallas, Texas on Sunday night. The charter plane has been rerouted to South Bend, Ind., where Buttigieg will announce that he is dropping out.
A campaign aide told Fox News that Buttigieg wants to unite the party. Hours earlier, speaking to NBC News' "Meet the Press," Buttigieg vowed that "we'll be assessing at every turn not only what the right answer is for the campaign, but making sure that every step we take is in the best interest of the party and that goal of making sure we defeat Donald Trump -- because our country can't take four more years of this."
Buttigieg narrowly defeated rival Bernie Sanders by delegate count in Iowa, but has since suffered a string of defeats culminating in his drubbing in South Carolina on Saturday, where he finished fourth, behind billionaire Tom Steyer.
14 states are set to head to the polls on Super Tuesday, where one-third of all delegates will be at stake. Buttigieg's move means the race is increasingly likely to come down to Joe Biden, who won by a large margin in South Carolina, and Sanders, who secured the popular vote in Iowa, Nevada, and New Hampshire.
However, in a memo on Sunday, Elizabeth Warren's campaign said there would likely be a contested convention — and promised to make a "final play" for the nomination there.
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