Jason Palmer, the little-known Democratic presidential hopeful who notched a lone, surprising primary win in American Samoa this year, ended his campaign Wednesday.
Palmer, an education technology investor and former staffer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, already endorsed President Joe Biden for re-election last month. But he stopped short of the usual next step of dropping out of the race at the time, citing discussions and negotiations with the Democratic National Committee and convention leaders to “determine our precise role at the convention and in the drafting of the Democratic platform.”
Palmer won three out of the nearly 4,000 delegates to the Democratic convention by besting Biden in American Samoa, the lone state or territory Biden has lost this year. Palmer hadn’t visited the territory before he won its Super Tuesday contest, but he said he held four virtual campaign events there.
“You can never expect to beat an incumbent president, but I love the people of American Samoa, and they’ve been so wonderful to me this past month,” Palmer told NBC News after his projected victory.
At the time, Palmer also told NBC News he hoped Biden would step aside in the race and make way for the next generation of leaders, name-checking himself and several Democratic governors, including Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Jared Polis of Colorado and Gavin Newsom of California. Palmer also said then that he believed they would have better chances to beat former President Donald Trump in the fall.
The delegates put Palmer in a tie for third place on that front, even with Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, according to NBC News projections. Phillips spent more than $7 million on his long-shot challenge against Biden before he dropped out in March, according to federal campaign finance records. Palmer spent less than $1 million through the end of April.
Biden has notched 3,526 delegates, far surpassing the 1,975 delegates needed to win the nomination, and 27 delegates will be “uncommitted.”
Palmer’s final showing as a candidate came Tuesday in West Virginia, where he got more than 11% of the Democratic primary vote. Biden won the primary with over 70%.
Palmer plans to stay involved in politics, his campaign said in details shared first with NBC News. In conjunction with “TOGETHER!” — a platform that aims to empower young, independent-minded Americans to raise money for their causes, companies and campaigns — Palmer plans to endorse congressional candidates “committed to shaping the future of American democracy,” he said in a statement.
He said he will also personally make donations to 10 efforts to get reproductive rights on the ballot in 10 states.
Palmer said discussions about what he will do at the convention continue, adding that his team will attend it.
