Bloomberg: ‘I’m going to stay right to the bitter end’ of Democratic primary race

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday that he would remain in the Democratic primary race until the “bitter end,” even if mathematically eliminated from winning on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention.

In an interview with NBC News, the former mayor said that as long as he viewed himself as having a chance of taking the nomination, he would not concede his candidacy.

“Why would I spend all of this money, all of this time out of my life, and wear and tear, you know, which I love … incidentally, [it] reminds me of my three campaigns in New York for mayor, which I did like, the difference here is that I have to fly from event to event,” Bloomberg said.

“But yeah sure, I love it, I am going to stay right to the bitter end, as long as I have a chance,” he continued.

His remarks come as Democrats, including former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) have urged him to drop out of the race. Many of the candidates are critical of the overwhelming amount of money (more than $500 million) the billionaire Bloomberg is on track to spend on his self-funded campaign for the presidency just through Super Tuesday.

Other 2020 challengers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have also vowed to stay in the race even if mathematically eliminated from winning on the first ballot, accusing front-runner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) of employing a similar strategy in 2016.

“You do know that was Bernie’s position in 2016,” Warren told a questioner at a CNN town hall this week. “The way I see this is, you write the rules before you know where everybody stands. And then, you stick with those rules.”