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Michael Bloomberg is dropping out of the presidential race.Credit:AP

The former New York City mayor promptly endorsed former vice-president Joe Biden as the Democrat best placed to take on President Donald Trump in November.

"While I will not be the nominee,I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life,"Bloomberg said in a statement on Wednesday morning (Thursday AEDT).

"I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it.

"After yesterday’s vote,it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American,Joe Biden."

Bloomberg soared in the polls in February thanks to his huge advertising spend,and with moderate Democrats desperately seeking a viable alternative to Senator Bernie Sanders.

But Bloomberg put in a universally panned performance in his first debate and struggled to answer questions about the controversial stop-and-frisk policing practice he championed as mayor.

Meanwhile,in an email to staff,Elizabeth Warren's campaign manager Roger Lau suggested the Massachusetts Senator was considering dropping out of the race following a poor showing on Tuesday.

"Last night,we fell well short of viability goals and projections,"Lau wrote in the email.

He said the Warren team was"obviously disappointed,and we are going to announce shortly that Elizabeth is talking to the team to assess the path forward".

Warren finished third in her home state and,like Bloomberg,failed to win a majority of delegates in any state.

Two of Bloomberg's former Democratic rivals,Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg,dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden as the moderate alternative to Senator Bernie Sanders on the eve of Super Tuesday.

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