Michael Bloomberg campaign sends $18 million to cash-strapped DNC
Former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is giving the Democratic National Committee $18 million, an enormous cash infusion that the financially struggling organization says will boost its presence in battleground states.
The money, which is being transferred from Bloomberg’s presidential campaign, will help the DNC hire hundreds of organizers in key general election states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — even as it’s sure to raise the hackles of some leaders on the left who want the party to break free from big donations from billionaires.
In addition to the cash transfer, the Bloomberg campaign is also giving several battleground state parties some of its old field offices.
“With this transfer from the Bloomberg campaign, Mayor Bloomberg and his team are making good on their commitment to beating Donald Trump,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. “This will help us invest in more organizers across the country to elect the next president and help Democrats win up and down the ballot.”
The $18 million transfer represents an enormous infusion of money for the DNC. In all of February, the party committee raised only $12.8 million. Campaigns are allowed to transfer unlimited sums of money to party committees under Federal Election Commission rules.
Hindered by its struggles during the 2016 election cycle, the DNC has struggled to raise money in recent years, continually being bested in fundraising month after month by the Republican National Committee.
Bloomberg’s cash won’t entirely make up that deficit, but it will help the DNC catch up at a crucial time as the presidential primary winds down and the general election begins.
“As Mike said throughout the campaign, he would support whomever the eventual Democratic nominee is, as well as Democrats in key races that we must elect to help undo the damage President Trump has done in office,” the Bloomberg campaign said in a statement. “While our campaign has ended, Mike’s number one objective this year remains defeating Trump and helping Democrats win in November.”
Bloomberg said he was transferring the money in lieu of forming his own outside group to combat the president.
“While we considered creating our own independent entity to support the nominee and hold the President accountable, this race is too important to have many competing groups with good intentions but that are not coordinated and united in strategy and execution,” the campaign said. “The dynamics of the race have also fundamentally changed, and it is critically important that we all do everything we can to support our eventual nominee and scale the Democratic Party’s general election efforts.
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Join NowThis story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Michael Bloomberg campaign sends $18 million to cash-strapped DNC."