US Elections 2020: Bernie Sanders Drops Out Of Presidential Race, Clears Way For Joe Biden To Challenge Donald Trump

Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the 2020 US presidential race clearing way for Joe Biden to become the Democratic nominee to challenge President Donald Trump. 

"Focusing on that new vision for America is what our campaign has been about and what in fact we have accomplished," Sanders said in announcing his decision Wednesday morning.

"Few would deny that over the course of the past five years our movement has won the ideological struggle."

Bernie Sanders was under fresh pressure Wednesday to bow out of the race for the Democratic nomination after losing the three latest primary contests. Former Vice President Joe Biden swept all three of Tuesday's contests, building a solid lead in delegates to the party's July nominating convention as Democratic voters appeared to coalesce around him as the best chance to defeat President Donald Trump in November.

Biden handily trounced Sanders in each of Tuesday's battlegrounds. In the biggest prize of Florida, the 77-year-old former vice president grabbed 62 per cent of the vote against 23 per cent for 78-year-old Sanders. In Illinois, Biden topped 59 per cent to Sanders' 36 per cent, and in Arizona, Biden came in with more than 43 per cent to Sanders' nearly 32 per cent. Biden has now won 19 of the 24 contests, with just over half to be held.

According to the latest count by RealClearPolitics, Biden has racked up 1,147 delegates to Sanders' 861, with 1,991 needed to capture the nomination. Meanwhile, President Trump taunted the Democrats, repeating his accusation that the party elite sabotaged the campaign of Sanders - whom the president's own campaign views as the weaker opponent in the November contest.