Bloomberg's $1.4b presidential quest comes to naught

NEW YORK • It was a billion-dollar flop.

Mr Michael Bloomberg spent US$935 million (S$1.4 billion) on his failed bid for the White House by the end of last month, a spectacular sum and the most ever for a self-funded politician in US history.

But it was not enough to help the billionaire candidate win a single state before he dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary early this month.

The former mayor of New York City poured more than US$500 million into television advertising and US$100 million on digital ads during the course of his roughly 100-day campaign, according to a new filing made last Friday with the Federal Election Commission.

He spent tens of millions of dollars more on a raft of media consultants, pollsters and digital strategists, the filing showed. He paid more than US$15 million for polling, including US$11.5 million to the firm of pollster Douglas Schoen.

Mr Bloomberg also spent more than US$11 million on the firm created by ad-maker Bill Knapp to work on the 2020 campaign and another US$4.8 million on the firm of another ad-maker, Mr Jimmy Siegel. He also directed US$45 million to Hawkfish, a private digital firm he owned and created before he entered the race.

More than US$30 million was spent on direct mail. And more than US$1 million on meals for his staff that swelled to more than 2,000 in a few short months.

Mr Bloomberg entered the Democratic nomination race in November last year. He skipped the first four primary states in February - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - and instead used his personal fortune to compete, starting with the Super Tuesday contests on March 3 when more than a dozen states and 1,357 delegates were up for grabs.

He dramatically increased the pace of his spending last month: He spent US$466 million in only 29 days, and accrued US$31 million in bills he has yet to pay. That adds up to approximately US$17 million per day - the entire budget of some presidential candidates.

The media tycoon rose steadily in the polls this winter on the power of a can-do image crafted by his ad-makers. But his poor first debate performance, when Senator Elizabeth Warren unsparingly questioned his character and his record, began a swift downfall.

Mr Joe Biden then decisively won in South Carolina and the Democratic establishment quickly consolidated behind the former vice-president as, one by one, rivals dropped out and endorsed Mr Biden.

The developments left Mr Bloomberg with little support on Super Tuesday. His lone victory was in the faraway territory of American Samoa where he secured only 58 delegates in the latest projections - at a cost of more than US$15 million a piece, a price tag that is sure to rise because the new filing does not cover the first days of this month.

The lavish spending came to a crashing halt after Mr Bloomberg exited the race.

Former Bloomberg campaign officials last Friday said they were transferring US$18 million in leftover funds to the Democratic National Committee instead.

NYTIMES