Michael Bloomberg to Spend $100 Million in Effort to Defeat Donald Trump in Florida
Update 9/14/20: Since publication, Michael Bloomberg, who lost his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, announced he would spend $100 million in Florida to help Democratic nominee Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump.
According to a press release from Bloomberg’s Independence USA political committee, much of the money will go towards digital and TV ads, focused on "communicating with Hispanic voters." This comes after a recent poll showed Biden four points behind Trump among Florida Latino voters. More generally, the swing state has become pivotal in the 2020 election, with its large number of electoral votes. Currently, polling averages show a narrow race in the state, with Biden leading by roughly 1.2 points. Campaign spending has skyrocketed in light of these numbers, with total ad spending reaching $319 million. Bloomberg's PAC hopes that its donation will "allow Democrats and the Biden campaign to invest heavily in other key states," while the Trump campaign, currently struggling with financing, will have to sink even more money into Florida.
This donation did not come without its controversy. In March, Bloomberg laid off his field workers in all states, despite previously stating they would have jobs through November, regardless of whether the billionaire won the nomination. A lawsuit ensued, with former employees arguing they accepted their jobs under false pretenses. Bloomberg also previously noted that he would consider spending as much as $1 billion of his own fortune supporting “whoever’s in the race.” However, after his own campaign failed, he began to backtrack. This sizable Florida donation is the billionaire's first announced donation to the Biden campaign.
There is still time before November, however, so Bloomberg still may donate even more in the effort to defeat Donald Trump. As of last month, Biden is leading the current president in donations by roughly $150 million.
Original: Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, dropped out of the Democratic Presidential Primary on Wednesday after a poor Super Tuesday showing. However, the billionaire's money still remains in the race.
The former mayor will form a super PAC to support the Democratic nominee, whoever it may be, and help Democrats win down-ballot races this November. While the operation will support candidates nation-wide, the PAC will have field offices in key battleground states, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
NEWS: Michael Bloomberg will form a one-man super PAC to support the Democratic nominee, oppose Trump and support down-ballot Democrats running in November, a campaign official tells @JoshNBCNews.
It will include field offices in six battlegrounds: AZ, FL, MI, NC, WI and PA.— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) March 5, 2020
This new initiative does not come as a surprise. In January, Bloomberg's campaign told NBC News that, even if the Mayor did not win the nomination, 500 of his campaign staffers would go on to aid whoever becomes the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg guaranteed these 500 staffers full pay until November 2020, provided they remain steadfast in their efforts to defeat President Donald Trump.
Now that Bloomberg is officially out of the race, the contenders for the nomination are now former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who is in a very distant third place. On Wednesday, Bloomberg officially endorsed Biden for the presidency, but it is still unclear as to whether Biden will receive direct aid from Bloomberg before the Democratic nominee is chosen.
In a statement, Bloomberg did say of Biden, "I will work to make him the next president of the United States," though he has not specified what form that "work" will take.
According to Reuters, Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said there was still uncertainly regarding the relationship between the two campaigns. “All of those details are still to be worked out,” she said on a call with reporters.
Regardless of whether Bloomberg's staffers will join the Biden campaign now, or wait until the primary is decided, this large number of funded organizers will aid the Democratic 2020 campaign against Trump, alongside Bloomberg's pledged financial aid.
In addition to man power and money, Bloomberg committed to shifting his technological resources to the Democratic nominee. According to NBC News, Hawkfish, a tech company founded by Bloomberg and which carried out the candidate's $100 million online ad campaign, will refocus its efforts through Election Day to help defeat Trump.
However, as the recent statement noted, all of this aid has to come in the form of a super PAC. If Bloomberg were to give this support directly to specific campaigns, it would be considered an in-kind contribution that would exceed federal campaign spending limits. In order for this to be legal, the staffers and technology have to be paid by an independent funding vehicle, like a super PAC. In these cases, by law, the staffers and Hawkfish could not coordinate with the nominee's campaign.
Even though they would not be allowed to work for the campaign directly, these staffers could still have a major impact on the election. They could work on increasing Democratic voter turnout nationwide, organize events, and create and sponsor ads.
Luckily, Bloomberg already has an infrastructure in place for his new super PAC. His prior PAC, Independence USA PAC, spent more the $110 million on electing Democrats to the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2018.
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