Afp, Washington

Pete Buttigieg, the openly gay US presidential candidate, on Sunday ended his campaign to be the Democratic nominee -- giving a major boost to fellow centrist Joe Biden.

The 38-year-old Buttigieg’s surprise decision was set to shake up the race this week when 14 states vote on “Super Tuesday.”

It is expected to further boost the fortunes of Biden after the former vice president scored a resounding victory in South Carolina’s primary on Saturday in the contest to see who faces President Donald Trump in November.

Biden has emerged as the chief moderate challenger to frontrunner Bernie Sanders, the firebrand leftist who has taken the race by storm and is looking to score big wins on Tuesday in states such as crown jewel California.

Buttigieg, a military veteran and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, addressed supporters in his home town.

“The truth is that the path has narrowed to a close -- for our candidacy, if not for our cause,” he said.

Buttigieg did not mention Sanders by name in his speech, but he has publicly stated he believes the 78-year-old senator’s “inflexible” political approach would fail in a match-up against Trump.

“We need a broad-based agenda that can truly deliver for the American people, not one that gets lost in ideology,” he said.

Buttigieg however stopped short of endorsing Biden or any other candidate.

Buttigieg emerged as a major player by narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses, earning widespread attention for his unflustered and professional approach in an often bitter Democratic nomination battle.

But his third place finish in Nevada and a worse showing in South Carolina confirmed he had struggled to build a broad coalition, including support from black voters -- a key Democratic demographic.

Biden’s resounding victory Saturday in the first southern state to vote has thrust him back into contention, after miserable showings in the first three states.

With 48 percent of the vote in South Carolina, Biden more than doubled the 20 percent won by Sanders -- positioning him as the leftist senator’s main rival.