By Adam Shaw, Nick Givas | Fox News
Billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer ended his presidential bid on Saturday, after what appears to be a third-place finish in South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary.
Steyer made the official announcement during his post-primary rally in South Carolina and told voters he no longer sees a viable path forward to winning the White House.
“We were disappointed with where we came out. I think we got one or two delegates from congressional districts, which I thank South Carolina for,” he said. “But I said if I didn’t see a path to winning, that I’d suspend my campaign. And honestly, I can’t see a path where I can win the presidency.”
Steyer promised to remain involved in political issues across the country and said any one of the Democratic candidates for president would be better than President Trump. He also took a shot at Sen. Lindsey Graham, S.C., who represents South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA, PUMPED-UP STEYER SAYS HE’S READY TO ‘RUN THROUGH THE TAPE’
“Every Democrat is a million times better than Trump,” he added. “Trump is a disaster… Lindsey Graham’s a disaster. He’s a disaster for the people here”
The move came shortly after former Vice President Joe Biden won the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary. Fox News projected Sen. Bernie Sanders will finish in second place, with Steyer currently in third.
Steyer, who reportedly spent over $250 million on his campaign, has put much of his energy into a good performance in the Palmetto State. He had told supporters and volunteers gathered at his South Carolina campaign headquarters on Saturday that “there is an old saying when you run a race, which is that you don’t run to the end, you run through the tape. And that is exactly where we are today.”
Steyer had a string of lackluster single-digit finishes this month in the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, and the Nevada caucuses. But he has been heavily courting black voters and was optimistic things would be different Saturday in South Carolina, where African Americans were expected to make up roughly 60 percent of the Democratic presidential primary electorate.
“We have a very good team here. I’ve spent a lot of time on the ground and I’m talking straightforwardly about issues,” he said. “This is a heavily African-American state. I talk very straightforwardly about race. I’m the only person talking about reparations for slavery. I think I’ve been here the most and looked most people in the eye and talked most straightforwardly and I think that’s why.”
Fox News’ Patrick Ward and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. Adam Shaw is a reporter covering U.S. and European politics for Fox News.
