Michael Bloomberg’s multimillion-dollar ad blitz, which he quickly rolled out following his last-minute longshot presidential bid, has flopped, with 59 percent of voters indicating that they did not find his ads compelling.
Bloomberg spent over $30 million on a single week of television ads, largely focusing on Super Tuesday states. He surpassed the $100 million mark this month, spending an average of $3.7 million per day on political ads — a move which has drawn sharp criticism from the likes of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT):
However, the ads did not have a significant impact on voters’ perceptions, according to a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll released this week. The poll, taken December 10-14, 2019 among 1,000 registered voters, showed that the majority, 59 percent, did not find Bloomberg’s ads convincing. By contrast, 35 percent found them very or somewhat convincing:
“I’m disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections,” Sanders said in a statement following the initial reports of Bloomberg’s ad blitz.
“It’s just the latest example of a rigged political system that we are going to change when we’re in the White House,” he continued.
“If you can’t build grassroots support for your candidacy, you have no business running for president,” he added. “The American people are sick and tired of the power of billionaires, and I suspect they won’t react well to someone trying to buy an election.”
Bloomberg’s multimillion-dollar efforts have failed to translate in the polls. He has not come close to the top tier, averaging 5.1 percent in the polls, according to RealClearPolitics. A KQED poll released this week also showed Bloomberg failing to garner momentum in California, a key state in his Super Tuesday strategy.
He saw just three percent support, over two percent below his national average:
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