Updated at 12:10 p.m.: Revised throughout.

WASHINGTON — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ended his White House bid on Wednesday, all but ensuring that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee to take on President Donald Trump in the November election.

Sanders, a progressive warrior, saw his campaign fizzle out in early March after surging to front-runner status with strong performances in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

It’s the second time in the last two presidential cycles that the self-described democratic socialist has ended up as the runner-up in the Democratic race for the White House. In 2016, he was defeated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Sanders succeeded this time in encouraging broader acceptance of his progressive views on everything from universal health care to an increased minimum wage to free college tuition.

But the delegate math was becoming ever-more daunting, particularly as political campaigning has effectively come to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sanders ultimately concluded that the “path toward victory is virtually impossible.”

“While we are winning the ideological battle and while we are winning the support of so many young people and working people throughout the country, I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful,” he said in a video address to supporters.

Sen. @BernieSanders: "The path toward victory is virtually impossible...I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful. And so today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign. Please know that I do not make this decision lightly." pic.twitter.com/6EdKesovf4 — CSPAN (@cspan) April 8, 2020

Now comes the question of whether Sanders can unite his political revolution with the Democratic establishment represented by Biden.

Though the senator endorsed Clinton — and campaigned on her behalf — there was no doubt that the party remained fractured after a bruising 2016 primary season. Democratic leaders are hoping to avoid a repeat as they seek to make Trump a one-term president.

The president himself was quick to stir the pot Wednesday.

“This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco,” Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to the Democratic National Committee. “The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party.”

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said much the same.

“President Trump is still disrupting Washington, DC, while Biden represents the old, tired way and continuing to coddle the communist regime in China,” he said. "Democrat elites shoved Bernie Sanders to the side for a second time, leaving many of his supporters looking for a new home.”

Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday! This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020

But Sanders on Wednesday described Biden as a “very decent man who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward.”

The senator said he would remain on the ballot in future primary states, despite suspending his campaign, to gather as many delegates as possible so he can “exert significant influence” on the party platform at the Democratic National Convention.

“Then, standing together, standing united, we will go forward to defeat Donald Trump,” he said, referring to Trump as the “most dangerous president in modern American history.”

Biden, calling Sanders a “good man” and a “great leader,” echoed a similar sentiment.

The former vice president vowed to Sanders that he would be reaching out, saying, “You will be heard by me” and, “As you say, not me, us.” Biden made the same commitment to Sanders’ passionate base of supporters.

“I see you, I hear you, and I understand the urgency of what it is we have to get done in this country,” he said in a news release. “I hope you will join us. You are more than welcome. You’re needed.”

The demise of Sanders’ campaign came just a few weeks after he had seemed poised to wrap up the Democratic contest for himself.

He had effectively tied Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., in the Iowa caucuses. Next, he won comfortable victories in New Hampshire and Nevada, flexing his strength with Hispanic voters in the latter.

But then came South Carolina, the first primary state with a sizable African American electorate.

Biden dominated — thanks, in large part, to support from older black voters. And the rest of the Democratic field took notice, with Buttigieg, businessman Tom Steyer and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota all dropping out in the wake of the “First in the South” contest.

The former vice president cemented his edge over Sanders on Super Tuesday in early March, with Texas playing a pivotal role.

Biden rallied in Dallas the night before the critical primary day, making appearances with Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman who ended his own White House campaign back in November.

Though Biden beat Sanders by only 4 percentage points in the Lone Star State, the sudden reversal of fortune there and in other Super Tuesday states proved to be game-changing. The former vice president has continued to pad his delegate lead since then.

On Wednesday, prominent Texas Democrats on both sides were diplomatic.

State Rep. Rafael Anchia of Dallas, a Biden surrogate, took to Twitter to thank Sanders for “your impact on the national conversation & for your ongoing service in the United States Senate.” He later praised Sanders’ “positive impact” on the 2020 White House race.

Former U.S. Senate candidate Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, meanwhile, wrote on Twitter that she “will vote for Biden & push him to deliver the short & long-term change Americans need.”

“Anyone who believes Biden would be tantamount to another 4 years of Trump needs to look at the dangerous response to #COVID19 for a reality check,” Tzintzún Ramirez, an ideological ally of Sanders, wrote.

Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa also praised Sanders for the “the movement he’s created.”

“When we win the White House and enact bold, progressive policies that give everybody a fair shot to get ahead, it will be, in large part, because of the movement Senator Sanders created,” he said in a news release.

Watch Sanders announce his decision here.