Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is planning to launch a new multistate effort to support the eventual winner of the Democratic primary after suspending his own campaign.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Bloomberg is planning an organization targeting six states: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania, that would both attack President Trump on key issues and support the Democratic nominee for president.
News of Bloomberg’s plans comes following the suspension of his presidential bid on Wednesday following poor performances in Super Tuesday states. Shortly after dropping out, the former mayor endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.
The new organization, while reportedly consolidating hundreds of campaign staffers across battleground states, will also serve as a vessel for the millions of dollars Bloomberg planned to spend on his own campaign for president, which will now work to serve the winner of the Democratic primary.
What form that would take in the face of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the other leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, winning the primary is unclear as Bloomberg has said that it would be difficult for him to support Sanders in a general election versus Trump.
Sanders’s top campaign aide Jeff Weaver recently dismissed the possibility of accepting the billionaire former mayor’s help.
“It’s a hard no,” Weaver told NBC News. “Bernie has said he’s going to fund his presidential campaign with small-dollar contributions, and I think we can do that. I think we can raise over a billion dollars in small-dollar contributions.”
“It’s fine with me. You’re saving me a lot of money, thank you very much,” Bloomberg responded to the Houston Chronicle when questioned about Weaver’s comment.
“I said that I would help. I’m going to keep our campaign offices, the main ones, anyway, open until Nov. 3,” Bloomberg added. “And if they don’t want to use them, then fine. Then we’ll close them.”