Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has jumped into the Democratic race for president and “will spend whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump,” a source close to Bloomberg told Axios.
Late Thursday, news broke that Bloomberg was filing paperwork to run in the Democratic primary in Alabama, one of the first states to have a deadline for qualifying for the ballot. With a net worth of $52 billion, Bloomberg would enter the race as a moderate Democrat who has an unlimited bankroll and wouldn’t need independent donors to drive his campaign. Compared to candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, who has just $9 million of cash on hand, Bloomberg would be at a massive advantage.
Bloomberg hasn’t made a final decision about whether to jump in, but speculation about his prospects has been rampant for months. A billionaire, philanthropist and three-term mayor in New York City, it’s not entirely clear what constituency Bloomberg would target, though pundits think his candidacy would box out other moderate Democrats like Biden or Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
News of Bloomberg’s potential candidacy was met with mixed reactions. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) campaign manager Faiz Shakir said “more billionaires seeking more political power surely isn’t the change Amerca needs.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.) welcomed Bloomberg to the race on Twitter, but linked to her recently unveiled “billionaire calculator” that would tell Bloomberg how much money he’d pay in taxes under her new plan. Businessman Andrew Yang described Bloomberg as a “phenomenal entrepreneur” but said he thought it would be tough for someone to jump in the race this late. – READ MORE