Bloomberg to fund sizable campaign effort through November even if he loses Democratic nomination
Exclusive: The former New York City mayor plans to continue paying hundreds of staffers and funding his digital operation to defeat Trump even if he's not the nominee.
Jan. 10, 2020, 8:27 AM EST
By Josh Lederman and Stephanie Ruhle
WASHINGTON — Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s massive campaign apparatus and an army of some 500 staffers will march on through the general election in November even if he loses the Democratic nomination, campaign officials tell NBC News, shifting their efforts toward working to elect whomever the party selects to face President Donald Trump.
Bloomberg’s vast tech operation will also be redirected to help the eventual nominee, as Democrats struggle to compete with the vaunted digital operation built by Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. Hawkfish, a digital company started by Bloomberg that’s carrying out his $100 million online ad campaign, will be retained through Election Day to help defeat Trump, the officials said.
Awaiting the eventual nominee would be a shadow field operation across the country that’s currently unparalleled in size by any of the other candidates in the presidential race. The roughly 500 staff members Bloomberg has committed to paying through November include those in battleground states like Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as in Arizona.
“Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president,” said Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg’s campaign manager. “He is dedicated to getting Trump out of the White House.”
The unusual move illustrates how Bloomberg, who made a late entrance into the race in November, is working to cast himself as a team player for Democrats who are more interested in seeing Trump defeated than his White House ambitions. Since Bloomberg entered, his campaign has worked to allay concerns that he could be a spoiler in the race by helping tip the nomination toward a less electable candidate.
It also means that whoever wins the Democratic nomination may have resources at the ready in the most critical states by the time the general election kicks off. That could potentially reduce the incumbent advantage enjoyed by Trump, who faces no serious primary challenge and whose re-election campaign is already focused squarely on the general election.
The digital operation through Hawkfish could also offer an edge, drawing on Bloomberg’s extensive data and analytics capabilities. Bloomberg used a data-driven approach as mayor, and his namesake company, Bloomberg LP, pioneered data “terminals” for financial analytics.
If another Democrat wins the nomination, the Bloomberg-funded staffers won’t work directly for the nominee, which would constitute an in-kind contribution by Bloomberg to the campaign that would exceed federal contribution limits. Rather, those staffers would be paid by an independent funding vehicle supported by Bloomberg, officials said.
more:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bloomberg-fund-sizable-campaign-effort-through-november-even-if-he-n1113421
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