Bloomberg rips importance of Iowa, New Hampshire in Democrats’ nominating process

Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg in an op-ed on Monday slammed the early state nominating processes in Iowa and New Hampshire, arguing that the candidates’ focus on the two states takes oxygen away from other important states in the primary process. 

“Our current system, in which two early states dominate the candidates’ time and resources, is in urgent need of reform,” the former New York City mayor wrote in a CNN op-ed. 

“The Democratic Party reflects America’s incredible diversity. But the first two voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire, are among the most homogenous in the nation,” he continued.

“While it’s great that candidates reach out to voters in these states at every pancake breakfast and town hall around, what about African-American, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, and other voters in places like Detroit, Montgomery, Phoenix, and Houston?” he said. 

The former New York City mayor got into the primary race late and said he was going to take an unconventional approach by focusing on primaries that come after Iowa and New Hampshire.

He is not the first 2020 candidate to criticize the early state nominating processes in Iowa and New Hampshire. Former Democratic candidate Julián Castro argued in November that the two states should lose their status as the first-in-the-nation nominating contests. 

Bloomberg, who is not even attempting to compete in Iowa and New Hampshire, said he visited a number of the cities he mentioned in the op-ed, adding that voters in the population centers said the other campaigns “have almost no presence in their cities.”

Bloomberg formally entered the race last November, which put him at a disadvantage in the early states. He has since spent tens of millions on ads in Super Tuesday states. 

His campaign revealed last week that he has hired more than 800 staffers since launching his campaign. 

Bloomberg, who is a billionaire and is self-financing his campaign, faced some pushback on his entrance into the race due to questions over his wealth and about diversity within the party.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who ended his presidential bid on Monday, pointed out in December that there were more billionaires left in the Democratic field “than there are black people.”