Billionaire Michael Bloomberg capitalizes on Iowa chaos by doubling TV ad spending
DES MOINES - Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a Democratic presidential candidate, sought to capitalize on the chaos from the Iowa caucus by doubling his ad spending.
After all the confusion in Iowa, Bloomberg, who’s fueling his campaign with his vast, $60 billion fortune, authorized his advisers Tuesday morning to double television spending, a Bloomberg spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business.
Some believe this year’s Iowa caucus produced an unusual amount number of winners. So far, the results of the state’s caucus revealed that Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are the top Democratic candidates.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump swept the caucus.
Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, called himself “the un-Trump.”
“He makes promises, I keep them. He divides people. I try to unite him. He's a climate denier. I'm an engineer, I actually believe in science. Can you imagine that?” Bloomberg said. “I follow facts, respect data and tell the truth. He looks out for people who inherited their wealth. Unlike him, I'm self-made.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg appeared to sidestep the unusual caucus altogether.
“Well the fact that you know, that his car was not in the nine-vehicle-pile-up on the freeway, obviously is an advantage for him,” said Professor Ross Baker of Rutgers University.
Bloomberg has made it clear that he would forego the first four contests to concentrate on the delegate-rich Super Tuesday states, where a quarter of all delegates are up for grabs on March 3.
A few days ago, Bloomberg visited Arizona, where he fired up crowds in the predominantly red state.
“Republicans think this is a red state, and some Democrats say it’s purple, but why don’t we call it what it will be in 2020, a blue state!” Bloomberg said at an event in the Grand Canyon State.
At campaign events and in media appearances, Bloomberg has touted his three terms as mayor and his more recent work, including helping Democrats win the House in 2018 “so that Nancy Pelosi took over, and then she started the impeachment process. We beat him again and I'm ready to do it one more time.”
Formerly a Republican and an independent, Bloomberg, now a Democrat, has already spent more than $200 million dollars of his own fortune to fund his campaign. He will also continue building up his campaign staff, with plans to hire more than 2,000 employees, according to the Bloomberg spokesperson.
During the first two months of his nascent campaign, Bloomberg poured $188 million into ads, according to recent federal filings. By the end of January, the spending topped $300 million, ad-tracking firm Advertising Analytics reported, dramatically outpacing the historically crowded field of Democratic candidates.
In a recent New York Times report, Bloomberg did not rule out the possibility that he’ll spend $1 billion on the election -- and vowed to use his expansive resources to support the eventual nominee if he doesn’t win.
It’s paying off in some polls, where he’s tiptoeing into the top three candidates.
However, analysts believe his strategy of entering this late is a long shot.
“This has been the pattern for all the Democratic primaries, that you have to be in Iowa, that you have to play in New Hampshire,” Baker said. “And you now have to play in South Carolina, or in Nevada. These are the four early events.”
But Bloomberg says those are the “old rules” and that he can win without competing in those states first.
One thing is for sure, he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
The Associated Press, FOXBusiness.com and Stringr contributed to this report.