Michael Bloomberg has spent almost $1 billion on his failed presidential campaign
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg invested a staggering $935 million of his personal fortune through February into his short-lived bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, a campaign that saw him win just a single contest.
In February alone, the media and business data tycoon donated nearly $471.6 million to his campaign, as he spent heavily on advertising ahead of Super Tuesday contests in early March, according a filing with the Federal Election Commission. Bloomberg suspended his campaign earlier this month.
The campaign reported spending $875 million through the end of February.
Bloomberg suspended his presidential bid on March 4, after winning only the US territory of American Samoa. He quickly endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner for the nomination.
On Friday, Bloomberg’s aides announced he would transfer $18 million from his shuttered campaign operation to the Democratic National Committee. The infusion will help the DNC hire organizers across key battlegrounds states in the fall fight to oust President Donald Trump, aides said.
Bloomberg’s campaign also will transfer to the DNC some long-term leases it signed for office space in swing states.
His decision to transfer the money to the DNC allows the party to coordinate its spending with the eventual nominee. Bloomberg had considered launching his own independent effort to help Democrats and oppose Trump but would have faced restrictions on coordinating his activity with the party’s eventual nominee.
After Bloomberg’s Super Tuesday losses, Trump criticized the former New York mayor on Twitter, writing that his “consultants took him for a ride … $700 million washed down the drain.”
But Bloomberg’s campaign aides argued that his spending will help shape the outcome of the fall campaign. They touted the $275 million Bloomberg had spent specifically on anti-Trump advertising, saying it had prevented the President from “running unopposed until Democrats officially select their nominee.”
In recent weeks, Bloomberg also has donated smaller sums to political groups focused on voter outreach, including $2 million to Collective Future, a nonprofit working to register and turn out African American voters.
Friday marks the deadline for presidential candidates and parties to disclose their political fundraising and spending during February. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who remains in the race with Biden, raised nearly $47.6 million in individual contributions in February and started March with a substantial $18.7 million in available cash, the filings show.
The final sum that Bloomberg invested in his campaign will become public only next month, when his campaign must disclose its March activity.
