Does Mike Bloomberg stand a chance?
Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have emerged as early favorites following their top finishes in New Hampshire and Iowa. Since 1976, no one has ever won the Democratic presidential nomination without winning one of these first two states, with one notable exception: Bill Clinton in 1992. More on that shortly.
Iowa and New Hampshire, with their predominantly white and nonethnic vote, may not be a true representation of the variegated face of the national Democratic voter, yet historically, a fast break out of the starting gate has proven indispensable to keeping the momentum going and attracting donors.
With the implosion of Joe Biden’s campaign and the sense that Democrats are uneasy about promoting the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, to Pennsylvania Avenue, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has become the darling of the anyone-but-Trump and anyone-but-Bernie crowds.
With a personal war chest, Bloomberg doesn’t need to schnorr, but just like money can’t buy happiness, it also can’t buy elections. His campaign strategy of skipping the early states and pouring $1 billion into an advertising and social media blitz in advance of the March 3 vote in 14 Super Tuesday states is a risky, untested, and unproven strategy.
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