At the time, seven Democrats competing to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020. They appeared on the Manchester, New Hampshire, stage last Friday night, merely days ahead of state’s centric election.
Four of the candidates weren’t on the stage, however: ex-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado and the former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Michael Bloomberg, the multibillionaire who came late to the race, became part of the debate when Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized him over the piles of cash he’s spent on his campaign so far.
When asked about why she thought she was a better fit than Bloomberg to beat Donald Trump, Warren responded that “I don’t think of anyone ought to be able to buy their path into nomination or to be president of the U.S.” The line from her received a huge round of applause from the crowd.
“I don’t realize any billionaire ought to be able to do it, and I don’t see people who suck up to billionaires to fund their campaigns ought to do it,” Warren said.
The senior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren had earlier blasted Buttigieg, who announced victory in the Iowa caucus this week, for planting a swish fundraising event inside a “wine cave” – a moment that suddenly gone viral.
Bloomberg will not show up on any ballots until Super Tuesday. But he continued rising in the polls after dumping thousands of millions of dollars into his campaign. He paid for a 60-second Super Bowl ad, which is one of the priciest time slots on television.
He has piled money mainly into states that reserved their primaries on March 3, Super Thursday. The schedule of 14 primaries involves the delegate-rich Texas and California.
Enquired after the debate what kind of support he perceives Michael Bloomberg to get on Super Thursday, Jeff Weaver, advisor for Bernie Sanders, contended that voters might oppose the former mayor’s idea to ignore the first four nominating states and guiding money into later contests.
“I think voters for Democratic candidates are going to be sort of repulsed by that kind of politics when the time reaches,” Weaver said.
Bloomberg’s efforts seem to be paying off: He has overtaken various other candidates, as per the RealClearPolitics’ polling average, and he is spotted in betting markets as the most likely participant to beat Trump in a general election.
Apart from Warren, other candidates that were on-stage Friday night piled on Bloomberg as they got the chance.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said, “I can’t stand big money on politics.”
Bernie Sander, who’s a self-described democratic socialist and had served as the U.S. Senator from Vermont, ripped into Michael Bloomberg’s strategy as “nonsense.” He spoke for moving the United States to a system of “public funding of elections.”
