WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is doubling the already massive amount of money he will spend on advertising, an effort to lift his Democratic presidential bid and capitalize on the chaotic outcome of Monday's Iowa caucuses.
"After more than a year of this primary, the field is as unsettled as ever. No one has made the sale or even come close to it," Bloomberg spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday. "Meanwhile, Mike is taking the fight to Trump every day, doubling down on the national campaign strategy we've been running from the beginning."
An exact dollar figure was not provided, but Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, has already spent over $300 million on TV, radio and digital advertising, according to the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics. That's boosted him in recent polls even though he is not competing head-to-head with the rest of the Democratic field in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
No winner has been declared in the Iowa contest after a technical meltdown prevented many election officials from using a new mobile app to report results. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders held a slight edge in polls before the caucuses, though Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg were all positioned to win.
Bloomberg is running an unconventional campaign that hinges on performing well in contests that come later. He has flooded TV, Facebook and Google with advertising that has improved his standing, even though he has not appeared in a single debate.
Recommended for you
In addition to the new advertising spending, Bloomberg's campaign announced it will also double its number of staff, taking the campaign's headcount to 2,100.
His campaign says he will have 125 offices by the week's end and staffers in 40 states and territories, including 450 workers in the battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Florida and Michigan.
___
Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, "Ground Game."
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.