Home WebMail Friday, November 1, 2024, 08:43 AM | Calgary | -4.8°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2020-03-04T04:58:10Z | Updated: 2020-03-04T11:50:03Z

Mike Bloomberg faced his first election night of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday and his disappointing results mean it might also be his last.

The former New York mayor will on Wednesday reassess his bid for the partys nomination, reported NBC News , The Associated Press and Politico . A statement from Bloombergs campaign manager, Kevin Sheekey, made two references to the importance of defeating President Donald Trump, a cause Bloomberg has previously said he will spend big money on regardless of whether he is the nominee.

We launched our campaign exactly 100 days ago, Sheekey said. In that incredibly short time, weve built a nationwide coalition focused on building a better future for America, and that starts with defeating Donald Trump in November.

Bloomberg has spent more than half a billion dollars of his estimated $60 billion fortune on the race so far, $224 million of it on advertising targeted at Super Tuesday voters. It hasnt paid off.

He notched only one outright win , in the territory of American Samoa. His top rivals former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) seriously outperformed him in states where he had hoped to make significant gains like North Carolina , Virginia and Colorado .

Bloombergs rationale for entering the race also faced trouble. He hoped to snag moderate voters from Biden, whom he saw as a weak candidate, and to emerge as the strongest alternative to the assertively progressive Sanders.

But Tuesday capped a dayslong surge for Biden, who secured a win in South Carolinas primary on Saturday and high-profile endorsements from Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and former 2020 presidential contenders Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). He scored significant wins, including in states that backed Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary like Oklahoma and Minnesota, as well as in Massachusetts, the home state of fellow Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.

To the extent Bloomberg sought to blunt Sanders momentum, he did enjoy some successes on Tuesday night. In Colorado, for example, Bloomberg and Biden both secured a significant number of votes, thus denying Sanders a number of delegates in a state he won.

Yet the former vice presidents stunning turnaround suggested there was little space left for Bloombergs Biden-like pitch of being the best Sanders alternative and the most qualified to face Trump because of his experience and personal ethics.

Bloomberg has established a massive national operation that extends beyond the Super Tuesday states. Should he choose to, he could remain in the race, and his team has spoken of a long push. Were going to be fighting it through, adviser Tim OBrien told the AP ahead of Tuesday, saying the nights results would not cause his boss to drop out.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Bloomberg has bought ads for the following two days in states with later contests, The Washington Post reported .

Yet the businessman could decide the most pragmatic and face-saving move would be to bow out, perhaps preserving some of a reputation thats recently faced loud criticism from the left and fresh scrutiny.

The writing is on the wall, one source close to the campaign told Mediaite .