Posted on 11/27/2019 1:02:54 PM PST by robowombat
Bloomberg bets 2020 campaign on unprecedented strategy BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 11/27/19 03:32 PM EST
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s unconventional campaign strategy is panning out to be one of riskiest experiments in primary politics, testing the limits of personal wealth and name recognition.
Bloomberg, who officially threw his hat in the Democratic primary ring last week, will not accept donations nor fund his own campaign, automatically disqualifying himself from the primary debates.
The billionaire politician also says he plans to focus on the Super Tuesday states, and won’t compete in the crucial early contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Operatives acknowledge Bloomberg’s game plan is risky, but are not dismissing his chances given that he is backed by his enormous personal wealth.
Bloomberg is worth roughly over $50 billion and has long championed liberal causes like combatting climate change. But he is also a former Republican, an affiliation that is expected to draw scrutiny during the primary.
The former mayor is hoping his history in politics and advocacy on issues such as gun control could be key in building a coalition of moderate and liberal voters.
That's a feat none of the existing candidates in the race have been able to pull off so far in a race that has featured four leading contenders: former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg from the party's centrist wing, and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) from the progressive camp.
Whether Bloomberg can emerge as an alternative without spending time in early states or facing off on the debate stage remains in doubt.
“I think skipping the early states and skipping the debates could definitely be a problem,” veteran Democratic operative David Brock told The Hill.
“Both of those are opportunities to speak more directly to voters.”
Other strategists, however, argue that Bloomberg’s absence from Iowa and New Hampshire may not be critical because of the states’ lack of voter diversity.
“I have to say it'll probably piss people [off] in Iowa, New Hampshire, who are used to almost two years of slavish devotion,” a Democratic strategist told The Hill. “But is it a bad thing to move beyond those small, white, rural, under-representative early states?”
Another former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, similarly skipped the early states for the most part to focus on Florida and the Super Tuesday states. The strategy ended badly, and he was forced to withdraw after finishing third in the Sunshine State and never even making it to Super Tuesday.
Despite being a billionaire and former mayor of New York, Bloomberg will similarly have to work to put his name out in a number of the Super Tuesday states where he is less known, such as those in the South.
But unlike Giuliani, Bloomberg has deployed a $31 million ad buy across 98 local media markets, as well as on some national cable outlets -- an unprecedented level of spending for a candidate who has just joined the race.
Whether that can be enough remains to be seen. Warren attacked Bloomberg for using "bags and bags of money" to buy his way into the race, while Sanders declared himself "disgusted" by the spending.
“His name ID his significantly less than Biden or Warren or Sanders in any of those states in the middle [of the country] of the South,” Michael Gordon, a Democratic strategist and principal at Group Gordon, said. “His money can help there but he doesn’t have the longstanding credibility."
In order to be competitive in the South, Bloomberg will need to perform well among African-Americans, a potential hurdle given the scrutiny on his record as New York City mayor.
The billionaire this month apologized for his “stop and frisk” policing strategy during his tenure as mayor, saying he did not understand “the full impact that stops were having on the black and Latino communities.”
There are also few signs that Bloomberg has built-in support from other critical Democratic constituencies such as Latinos. Sanders, for example, has avidly courted Latino voters since his 2016 campaign.
“The political reality is, I don't think he will do exceptionally well with Latino voters because I don't think they know who the heck he is," Moe Vela, a Democratic strategist and former adviser in the Clinton and Obama White Houses, told The Hill.
“I’ve never seen Michael Bloomberg do anything to connect with the Latino community,” he continued. “So all of the sudden you’re going to come into Texas and California and Super Tuesday states and you’re going to pump in a bunch of money.”
Bloomberg’s absence on the debate stage could also prove to be a hurdle in his efforts to familiarize voters with his name.
A number of candidates like Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and businessman Andrew Yang are scrambling to ensure they get a spot on next month’s debate stage under toughened criteria.
But other strategists believe Bloomberg can afford not to take part in debates given that he is better known than some of the lower-polling candidates in the race.
“So many of them are fighting for oxygen that they are looking for a clip that can go viral, they're looking for a mention or maybe even a seat around the [morning news shows] table,” another Democratic strategist said. “He doesn’t have to do that. Michael Bloomberg doesn’t fight for oxygen.”
Others say Bloomberg could even benefit from being absent from the primary debates, and avoiding the likely on-stage attacks from candidates such as Warren and Sanders.
“Why would you want to stay in a place where your opponents could beat the devil out of you?” veteran New York strategist Hank Sheinkopf, who has worked with Bloomberg, told The Hill.
Despite the doubts about Bloomberg's strategy, few are willing to dismiss his chances in an unusually fluid race that has seen candidates such as Buttigieg vault from obscurity to top contender in the matter of months.
“Six months ago, there was a guy with a name no one could pronounce from a state with a low population, from a city that very few people go to to visit,” Sheinkopf said, referring to Buttigieg. “He is now one of the top four competitors in public polling.”
“This is 2019,” he said. “Anything can happen.”
Probably his real strategy is to have his name out there for when a brokered convention seeks a nominee.
Another NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, similarly skipped the early states ..to focus on Florida and the Super Tuesday states. The strategy ended badly...
Maybe not so unprecedented, just hasn’t worked yet.
Yes, he’s not that popular but apparently neither are his opponents. Money talks, BS walks and B’burg has plenty of the former, while his opponents have the latter.
Other than the nanny state stuff, he had a pretty good record in NYC. Also a big time philanthropist. By the time he spends millions on his image the low info types will think he’s Mother Teresa.
B’burg, will overwhelm the center lane crowding out the scandal ridden, idiot Biden who will fade away. I hear some “experts” predicting a brokered convention where B’burg buys delegates to get the nom.
I think a B’burg / Harris ticket with unlimited funds could be hard to beat.
His employees say he is a cold fish who looks down on them. No warmth at all.
He says things to women that are shocking.
Not to quibble, my good FRiend, but wouldn't Mister Bloomberg need to stand on a few boxes in order "look down on them"? /snark
Just caught Mike’s TV ad in SE PA. Voice over by someone else. Lots of POC featured. Nothing zippy or interesting about it. Much like him I guess. He does say he approved this message at the end...annoying!
He actually said, before this run) that he was going to give all his billions away before he died.......soooooo.
he’s skipping the early states
he’s skipping the debates
passing go to the head of the line
.....In order to spread the Soros , Chinese, European Gobalist Agenda down everyones throat.....
If he really wanted to try to hurt Trump he would save his money and spend it on whoever wins the dem nomination. Maybe he will have enough left to do that anyway. But money did not win in 2016.
Bingo!
I think a B’burg / Harris ticket with unlimited funds could be hard to beat.
We have your monies
Keep drinkin’ that sugary Kool-Ade, you Bloomin’ Idiot
The Dems “reformed” their rules so that if no one has a majority on the first ballot there is no commitment to a candidate from then on. That could get really ugly. How will Sanders’ and other far-left deegates respond when they’re ignored? (FWIW, I got a taste of what arm twisting looks like. When I was on the “welcome to Cleveland” hospitality committee for the RNC, I encountered a situation where some Republican mischief makers tried to browbeat some younger delegates into abandoning Trump). If chaos erupts, Bloomberg could get it out of spite from delegates who are ignored.
+1
Sleeping her way to the Presidency? (If the ticket wins, she'll screw him silly, trying hoping for the ol' Nelson Rockefeller effect to happen?)
“Bloomberg, who officially threw his hat in the Democratic primary ring last week, will not accept donations nor fund his own campaign, ...”
hmmmm
B’burg / Steyer,,, (chuckle)
With B’burgs money he doesn’t need an old white guy like steyer, who’s barely a b’aire.
I think B’burg’s entry is a game changer. Many are dismissing him, but I don’t think he’s in to lose. He is going after Trump and will use whatever money is necessary to sweep the board to go after him.
What if he chooses Deval Patrick for a running mate? Or Michelle 0?
No time for complacency here.
I am just trying to figure out who to vote for in the dem primary.
A big reason for the focus on the early states has to do with fundraising. Most candidates have to fund their candidacies with other people’s money. Even Trump needed that funding, mainly because he wasn’t inclined to fund his campaign 100% with his own money. Bloomberg has always funded his campaigns 100% with his own cash. So when he ran for mayor in NYC, his campaigns were also completely different from the way any other NYC mayoral candidate ever had conducted his campaign. His political career so far is 3 for 3. He’s looking to make it 4 for 4.
In short, a huge propaganda blitz from a billionaire. Yuk.
I agree with Bloomberg that IA and NH are ridiculous states to be the first to hold primaries. Even worse is Iowa with its caucases They are from a different era.
I've said this the minute he declared. The DNC is flat broke. Bloomberg is essentially running to fund the DNC and candidates who are vulnerable.
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