Bloomberg says he's 'in it to win it', not dropping out

[MIAMI] Billionaire Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that he does not plan to drop out of the Democratic presidential race to clear a path to the nomination for fellow moderate Joe Biden.

"Have you asked Joe whether he's going to drop out?" the former New York mayor shot back at a reporter who asked if he would quit the race if he performs poorly in the Super Tuesday primaries.

"Joe's taking votes away from me," Mr Bloomberg added of the former vice-president who received endorsements on Monday from several moderate former rivals for the spot on the Democratic ticket in November against Republican Donald Trump.

"I have no intention of dropping out," Mr Bloomberg told reporters in Florida, which holds its presidential primary on March 17. "We're in it to win it."

Democrats in 14 states were going to the polls on Tuesday in what is shaping up to become a head-to-head contest between Mr Biden and leftist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Mr Bloomberg, despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money on advertising in the Super Tuesday states, acknowledged that he was unlikely to win any states outright.

"I have no expectations for today," he said. "But we will have a decent number of delegates."

Mr Bloomberg said his only possibility of winning the Democratic nomination may be a contested convention where no single candidate arrives with the majority of delegates needed to win the nomination on the first ballot.

"I don't think I can win any other way," he said. "But a contested convention is a democratic process."

AFP