Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Politico/Getty.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has begun his presidential campaign with an absolutely massive $34 million ad buy. Politico. The $34 million will be used to buy TV advertisements in 46 out of 50 states, including big expensive states like California and Texas. It is believed that this ad buy is the biggest in history, outspending a $30 million buy that Barack Obama did in 2012. Michael Bloomberg is one of the richest men in the country with a net worth of $52 billion and is willing to spend up to $500 million on his campaign. Bloomberg also plans to spend $100 million on digital ads targeting President Trump and $25 million on registering new voters.
My Comment:
I think Michael Bloomberg's 2020 run is going to prove once and for all if money is the end all be all of politics. In the last election President Trump was outspent by Hillary Clinton but he still managed to win. However, the margin between them wasn't that great with all things being said and done Clinton spent around $1.4 billion and Trump just under $1 billion.
The money Bloomberg is spending on this ad alone? It dwarfs what other candidates are able to spend. Last quarter's money numbers show that the only candidate who is even close to being able to spend this much is fellow billionaire Tom Steyer, who has about $50 million cash on hand. Even well off candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren can not compete with Michael Bloomberg.
Of course the Republicans have quite a bit of money as well. Unlike the DNC they are well funded and have a ton of cash on hand, along with all the money that President Trump has raised. Right now both groups have about $334 million dollars raised so far, which would give them a huge advantage in spending.
However, Bloomberg's wealth alone could destroy this advantage. The $500 million he has alone is enough to outspend both the Republican and Trump campaign coffers but all of the 2020 Democrats as well. And that's just the money he has raised alone! If he starts to get traction he will get outside donors and big money from high power donors.
All that being said, this is still Michael Bloomberg we are talking about. As I said before I have no idea who he is supposed to appeal to. Right now the Democrat race has four real front runners all of whom have a wider appeal than Bloomberg has. Sanders and Warren are very popular with the progressive socialists while Joe Biden and Peter Buttgieg have the moderate vote locked up. There just isn't a lane here for Bloomberg
Furthermore, Bloomberg has several characteristics that make him completely unsuitable for the Democrats in 2020. For one thing he's a white male Jew, none of which are liked in the modern 2020 Democrats. He's also a billionaire which is what the progressive part of the party has been railing against for years now. If he somehow becomes the candidate, I can't see the progressive wing supporting him at all and they would have a good claim that he bought the election unfairly. Plus his law and order crime policies will damage him as well as they were enough to destroy Kamala Harris.
And Bloomberg won't appeal to anyone on the other side of the political spectrum. Though Bloomberg once called himself a Republican (another shot against him for the left) I can't think of any Republicans or right leaning independents that would vote for him. On the right Michael Bloomberg is the main boogyman who basically completely funded the modern gun control movement. He also is remembered as a nanny state idiot who cared more about how big your soda is than any actual issue.
Can Bloomberg's billions change all of this? I doubt it. Though President Trump was able to use self funding effectively, he did something that I can't see Michael Bloomberg ever doing. He found a part of the electorate that was being ignored and made a pitch to them. I can't image Bloomberg doing anything like that as he has pretty much zero appeal to anyone.
Still, this Bloomberg experiment will challenge a lot of beliefs. I generally thing that the importance of money is overrated in political elections but if Bloomberg is able to gather the candidacy or, even worse, become president it will pretty much prove me completely wrong.
Of course, I have always hated Michael Bloomberg. I consider him a civilization level threat due to his position on gun rights. If he is somehow elected he will be the most anti-gun president in American history and I can't see the 2nd Amendment surviving without an armed revolution against him. None of the 2020 candidates are good on the 2nd amendment but given that President Trump doesn't have a primary opponent, I will be voting for anyone but Bloomberg in my State's 2020 primary.
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