Bloomberg has dropped out, multiple sources reporting.
I’m shocked he’s given up so quickly. It’s not like he didn’t know that he had an uphill climb, getting into the race so late.
I don’t know if he ever could have won the nomination, but if he had been in from the beginning, been on all of the ballots and got his bad debates out of the way back when few were paying attention he might have made it very interesting.
that was half a billion well spent. So far he has only won 44 delegates, not nearly enough to deny Sanders the majority. But since it looks like Sanders probably won’t get it anyway, it doesn’t really matter anymore.
Bloomberg could’ve spent that half a billion dollars investing in GOTV efforts and registration drives all over the country.
It is a good day for democracy, this shows you can’t just buy an election.
What? You don’t assume that this is all part of some other secret plot?
But his entire strategy rested on the idea of skipping the small early states so that he could get a jump on a Super Tuesday. If he couldn’t even come close to winning on the day that he had spent the most money and effort on, how is is going to pull it off going forward. Also he realizes that if he stays in he’s, at best, going to be a spoiler for Biden, and who he (rightly in my opinion), thinks has the best chance of beating Trump. So for his political goals he’s best off dropping out and spending his money promoting Biden rather than himself.
Yeah, I don’t think Bloomberg’s ambition was so much being president, as it was beating Trump. When he got in, it was because he didn’t think the Dem field was moving in a direction that would prove victorious in November 2020. I think he’s a little more confident in that now, and is therefore comfortable dropping out and throwing his weight and massive billfold behind Biden. For all the bad things people say about Bloomberg, I think he was in this because he had the same goal as all of us: To beat Trump. And I don’t hold his extensive wealth against him, I actually welcomed it because I considered it to be a great asset for the Dems in the political system we currently have.
Anyone done the math yet on how much each vote he got cost him?
I shudder to think at what good could have been done in the world with that money.
The Washington Post broke it down by state (might be behind a paywall.)
For the states with 95% of precincts reporting:
Minnesota - $220 per vote
Texas, Vermont and Alabama - $170 per vote
Oklahoma - $130 per vote
Tennessee - $100 per vote
North Carolina - $90 per vote
Virginia - $60 per vote
Yes. If this had been an ego trip he’d still be in. But now that he’s seen the Democratic party get behind Biden–including the choices of Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Steyer to get out fast–he’s confident we’re on the right track to get Trump out.
What’s been done with that money is:
***create an infrastructure that he will continue to fund: offices and staff in crucial states, ready to work to get out the vote in November, and
***pepper the airwaves with ads ridiculing Trump and pointing out what a disaster Trump has been for the USA, in every way.
None of the money Bloomberg has spent is wasted, in my view. He’s been investing in American democracy. He knows that if Trump remains in office, we will have lost the republic—and the chances of getting it back may be dismal for generations.
Staffing of offices:
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/elections/mike-bloomberg-is-dropping-out-but-hes-going-to-keep-his-campaign-operations-going-in-states-like-texas/287-da60c79f-46fd-4c59-8202-1d312a85b442
Or buffalo wings. I shudder at the volume of wings he coulda bought.
I think his short run was a vanity project for him (although he may have convinced himself that his primary motivation was beating Trump for the good of the country).
New Yorkers haven’t forgotten his shady back-room deal to snag himself a third term as mayor, in violation of the city charter. That’s the real Bloomberg.
I’m glad he’s out. If he had by some miracle taken the nomination, I’m not sure I would have voted Democratic. Hey, there’s a first time for everything.
Here’s a thought: If Mike wants to do some real good for the country, he should put a bounty on Mitch McConnell’s head (a political bounty, of course - I’m certainly not advocating violence). Bloomberg could declare that he’s funding a PAC with vast sums of money that will fund anyone running against Mitch. Perhaps even Republican primary challengers.
Now *that *would be a billion well-spent. Much better than the money thrown down the drain on his ridiculous campaign.
In fairness, I think he’s doing some good with his anti-gun stuff. But I’m glad he’s not going to be our next president.
he said he is going to keep spending to defeat Trump. We’ll see if that is true soon.
Seems like Mike really dislikes Trump, vice versa, and it’s deeply personal. Bloomberg LP makes a ton of money, and Mike owns most of it. He wants to take down trump and he is putting a fraction of his estimated $60B net wealth against it (although it may actually be a noticeable amount of his free cash flow). since I want to see trump taken down, I’m not complaining
Bloomberg TV should be making 100 commercials for Biden right now.
I know I’ve seen at least one hundred Bloomberg commercials for Bloomberg since he dropped out of the race. In fact,the very first commercial after he made his announcement was one of his commercials. When does it stop?
If he’s already bought the air time, the stations will run the commercials to keep their money.
How much money can he contribute to a candidate?
Same as everyone else. Like $3k or something. But he can form a Super PAC and fill it with as much cash as he wants, just can’t directly coordinate with the candidate.
He did well. At no personal loss to his power or fortune he has helped stop Sanders and helped maintain control of the USA for the oligarchs.
It does show how much money these people have to splash around though. Imagine that cash going on something useful, like saving lives or nice public art.