(Bloomberg) -- Pete Buttigieg spoke late Sunday by telephone with both Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama after Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race, according to people familiar with the call.Buttigieg’s departure from the race could benefit Biden’s candidacy as he looks to lock down support from the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and blunt Bernie Sanders’ momentum.Obama has said he would not endorse a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary. He called Biden, who served as his vice president, to congratulate him after Biden decisively won the South Carolina primary on Saturday.The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ended his presidential campaign Sunday after failing to secure the diverse coalition needed to win the Democratic nomination.Biden praised Buttigieg on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and said he could see him serving in his administration. He also said that Buttigieg’s exit would smooth his own path to the nomination.“He was a real competitor. He is a real competitor. And I think it probably does,” he said.He had risen from a young mayor of Indiana’s fourth-largest city to the first openly gay presidential candidate to earn delegates toward the nomination.The 38-year-old newcomer won the Iowa caucus and performed well in New Hampshire, outlasting several senators and governors in the crowded Democratic field but got little support from non-white voters.(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)(Adds Biden quotes in fourth and fifth paragraphs)\--With assistance from Ryan Teague Beckwith.To contact the reporters on this story: Tyler Pager in Washington at tpager1@bloomberg.net;Jennifer Epstein in Charleston, South Carolina at jepstein32@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Magan CraneFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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