Billionaire Michael Bloomberg signaled that he is one step closer to announcing a presidential bid, securing a multimillion-dollar ad buy spanning across 32 states, it was reported on Friday.
The former New York City mayor, who, according to his allies, will spend “whatever it takes” to defeat President Trump in 2020, reportedly made a multimillion-dollar ad buy with “$19.4 million in reservations” spanning 32 states, Politico reported on Friday. Other reports indicate that the ad buy is as large as $33 million.
“This buy is MASSIVE,” Advertising Analytics analyst Ben Taber told Politico. “I think it’s going to be the biggest buy of all time.”
Politico reported:
Asked about the ad buy, Bloomberg aide Howard Wolfson texted back an animated GIF that read: “Stay Tuned.” A spokesperson said he had “nothing to share at the moment.”
“Bloomberg could spend more in one day than other presidential candidates spend in an entire campaign’s lifespan,” said Fernand Amandi, a Democratic consultant pollster who worked for President Obama’s campaigns. “What makes the Bloomberg campaign budget so amazing is that there is no budget. Everything is attainable….We haven’t seen a presidential campaign like one that Michael Bloomberg could run.”
One of the buys, reportedly a 60-second spot, targets West Palm Beach, Florida, and “will mention an opposing candidate.”
“A filing from WFAA, a station based in Dallas, Texas, notes that the ad ‘mentions running against Trump 3x within creative,’ in a handwritten note,” Politico added.
The ad buy follows Bloomberg’s statement of candidacy, which he filed on Thursday. However, he has yet to officially announce his presidential bid. A Bloomberg aide said that Thursday’s action was “another step towards running.”
If he runs, Bloomberg is expected to zero in on Super Tuesday states, a decision that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has slammed.
“Our campaign is going to end a corrupt political system dominated by billionaires and wealthy campaign contributors,” Sanders told the crowd in Coralville, Iowa, this month.
“Our campaign is going to end the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality which exists in America today,” he continued. “So tonight, we say to Michael Bloomberg and other billionaires, ‘Sorry, you ain’t going to buy this election'”:
“You’re not going to get elected president by avoiding Iowa, by avoiding New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. You’re not going to buy this election by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on media in California,” Sanders said. “Those days are gone.”
Bloomberg is also expected to spend up to $20 million on a voter registration drive “designed to weaken President Donald Trump’s reelection chances in five battleground states.”
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