Bloomberg plans to target swing states in hopes of boosting Democratic nominee over Trump

Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY
·3 min read

WASHINGTON – Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who recently ended his own presidential bid, is building an expenditure campaign to boost the Democratic nominee in critical swing states in November, a Bloomberg aide confirmed to USA TODAY.

The Washington Post first reported the independent spending effort from Bloomberg.

The super PAC will focus on advertising in Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Staff in each of those states have signed contracts through November to work on the effort, the Bloomberg aide confirmed.

More: How Mike Bloomberg can put his massive campaign organization to boost Joe Biden

His camp believes those six states will decide the electoral college. Each of those states went to President Donald Trump in 2016, handing him a 304 to 227 win over Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

Bloomberg's suspension of his own presidential campaign means he will now put some of his infrastructure behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who he endorsed earlier Wednesday.

At the peak of his campaign, Bloomberg had built a massive campaign apparatus with more than 2,400 staffers across 43 states and territories.

"I've always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it, and after yesterday's vote it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American: Joe Biden," Bloomberg told supporters at the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan in New York City after announcing his exit from the race earlier that day.

More: Michael Bloomberg's campaign was the most expensive self-funded campaign in history

Bloomberg has said he would put some of the campaign resources behind the Democratic nominee, however, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has repeatedly said he would reject the help.

During his three months in the race, Bloomberg rejected all donations to his campaign, entirely self-funding the operation from his own personal wealth, which Forbes estimates at around $60 billion. Advertising Analytics said the former New York City mayor spent $558 million on ads during his time in the race.

Bloomberg is now looking to use the vast resources at his disposal to boost the Democratic nominee above Trump, independently of the official Democratic nominee's campaign. As Erin Chlopak, Director of Campaign Finance Strategy at the Campaign Legal Center, explained to USA TODAY, this is in order to avoid running afoul of campaign finance laws.

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And despite dropping out, after waging his campaign on Super Tuesday states, which he had disappointing finishes in, Bloomberg has not lightened on his attacks of Trump. The two consistently spar on Twitter.

Thursday, the Bloomberg camp put out a new ad that might give a taste of what's to come from his PAC in those vital states, tweeting, "We’re not done with you yet, Donald."

Contributing: Nicholas Wu

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bloomberg to build group to target swing states in November