As Democrats battle in early states, Bloomberg quietly lays groundwork among party leaders

NBC News ^ | February 11, 2020 | By Lauren Egan

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Subtitle: The former New York mayor's campaign has been reaching out to key party influencers, including some who support his rivals.

WASHINGTON -- Michael Bloomberg may be absent from the early-state ballots, but behind the scenes, he has been using his wealth and influence to undermine the rest of the Democratic field.

As the other candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination trudged through Iowa and New Hampshire in the early weeks of this year, Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, has doubled his planned spending on television ads, expanded his staff several times over and started aggressively courting key party influencers - including many who have endorsed top rivals like former Vice President Joe Biden.

Bloomberg could escalate his efforts even more directly after the results of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary are in and as candidates, party insiders and voters begin to reassess the state of the race.

On Friday, in a townhouse across from the Capitol complex in Washington, top Bloomberg campaign advisers huddled with about 20 House members to deliver a briefing on their strategy to win the nomination and defeat President Donald Trump.

The cross section of lawmakers, representing the Blue Dog Coalition, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, included both members who have endorsed other candidates and members who remain undecided, according to a person familiar with Bloomberg's operation.

The strategy is to keep potential allies informed of Bloomberg's plans in case they decide to sign on later, the person said.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Translation: He’s buying the nomination.