--- title: How Michael Bloomberg's Potential White House Run Shakes Up The Field description: The news Thursday that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may join the crowded field of Democrats chasing their party's presidential nomination knocked the... canonical: https://time.com/5721873/michael-bloomberg-presidential-candidate/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-11-08T01:33:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:29.236Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Michael Bloomberg's Potential White House Run Shakes Up The Field og:description: The news Thursday that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may join the crowded field of Democrats chasing their party's presidential nomination knocked the... og:url: https://time.com/5721873/michael-bloomberg-presidential-candidate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6b51688af3a4453/698a0585096a941a2b6a73eb/michael-bloomberg-2020-campaign-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Michael Bloomberg 2020 Campaign og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Michael Bloomberg's Potential White House Run Shakes Up The Field twitter:description: The news Thursday that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may join the crowded field of Democrats chasing their party's presidential nomination knocked the... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6b51688af3a4453/698a0585096a941a2b6a73eb/michael-bloomberg-2020-campaign-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Michael Bloomberg's Potential White House Run Shakes Up the Field > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020 [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EcGVhn6h.m3u8) (1:17)  _Published 2019-01-18. Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020_  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 8, 2019 1:33 AM UTC  Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and former Mayor of New York City, speaks at a summit, on Oct. 29, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and former Mayor of New York City, speaks at a summit, on Oct. 29, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 8, 2019 1:33 AM UTC The news Thursday that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may join the crowded field of Democrats chasing their party’s presidential nomination knocked the contest off its axis. With fewer than 100 days until the first caucus in Iowa, the billionaire technocrat’s decision to enter the race—a choice that has yet to be announced officially—could upend all the current front-runners’ campaign strategies. Bloomberg, 77, a former Republican and the three-term mayor of New York City, has been an outspoken critic of some of the Democratic candidates’ far-left agendas, and wields financial resources no one else in the race can match. Bloomberg’s likely entry carries the biggest immediate threat for former Vice President Joe Biden, who had carved out a comfortable spot as a middle-of-the-road alternative to the two top liberal contenders, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who had also recently risen in the Iowa polls, would also likely lose some of his moderate supporters to a Bloomberg candidacy. Others, too, stand to see their campaigns hurt by his addition. The arguments for Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet, and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, all of whom have appealed to more centrist Democrats, make less sense if Bloomberg joins the race. The news came out of left field. Just last month, Bloomberg had again sworn off a White House run. But sources say Bloomberg unexpectedly reconsidered and is preparing paperwork to turn in on Friday to qualify for Alabama’s primary, which has the earliest deadlines in the nation. The _New York Times_ first reported the development. Howard Wolfson, a top adviser to Bloomberg, says the former mayor has not fully committed to running but is uncomfortable with the Democrats’ chances of winning with the existing candidates. “We now need to finish the job and ensure that Trump is defeated—but Mike is increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well-positioned to do that,” Wolfson said in a statement. “If Mike runs, he would offer a new choice to Democrats built on a unique record running America’s biggest city, building a business from scratch and taking on some of America’s toughest challenges as a high-impact philanthropist.” A Bloomberg campaign would be very well-funded; he is the eighth-richest person in America with a net worth of [$52 billion](https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/#73a537c41417). When promoting the rationale of a Bloomberg candidacy, Wolfson pointed to the more than $100 million that Bloomberg spent to help Democrats in 2018 win back the majority in the U.S. House. Bloomberg’s possible entry into the packed field comes just as his fellow self-funded billionaire Tom Steyer’s star is fading. Steyer has shelled out $47 million during his first three months in the race, and is polling at the bottom of the field. That said, the former Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat may not be welcomed with open arms by an increasingly progressive Democratic base. He may not even qualify for the debate later this month in Atlanta. Democratic National Committee debate criteria require that candidates chalk up 165,000 donors to qualify for the Nov. 20 debate, and the deadline for that benchmark is five days after Alabama’s Friday deadline. Donors aren’t likely to open their checkbooks for Bloomberg, and in the past he has refused to fundraise for his campaigns. Candidates also must garner 3% support in at least four national or early-state polls, or 5% in at least two early-state polls, according to the DNC debate criteria. Bloomberg hasn’t been in pollsters’ rotation for months. While his billions may make the start of his campaign easier, they also will not help him win over the white, working-class voters that Democrats lost in 2016\. In a largely populist moment, many Democrats may consider his extraordinary wealth a liability. (Bloomberg has given away $8 billion over his lifetime, according to Forbes.) Snarked former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett: > [](https://twitter.com/jonlovett/status/1192587879949598722) On a practical level, Bloomberg has a great deal of ground to make up. Most of the top political minds have been locked down for more than a year, although the abandoned candidacies of Beto O’Rourke, Kirsten Gillibrand and Eric Swalwell offer some top-flight talent that Bloomberg could snag. It also just takes time to get campaign field operations off the ground and Iowa’s Feb. 3 caucuses are just around the corner. Bloomberg is well-known in New York, but he will have to prove himself in New Hampshire and Iowa. Would-be rival campaigns were caught off guard by the news of Bloomberg’s possible entry. Many campaigns’ goal of amassing spending parity against rivals in television and digital advertising became quickly unattainable: Bloomberg can outspend them all without breaking stride. Buttigieg, who had more than $23 million socked away at the end of September to buttress future ad buys, can’t compete with Bloomberg’s coffers. But for now it’s clear that Democrats’ ultimate rival—President Donald Trump—has found another boogeyman. ## Transcript Democrats are lining up to run against Donald Trump. [ MUSIC ] With the 2020 election still a ways away, an unusually large number of candidates have announced they are running or hinted strongly that they will. Here's a look at some of the major names who have joined the race so far. [ MUSIC ] As a law professor, Warren helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Before joining the Senate in 2012. She's long advocated for tougher rules on banks and corporations and pocketbook issues like student loan reform. A former member of the House from upstate New York, Gillibrand has moved to the left since taking Hillary Clinton's old Senate seat in 2009. In announcing her run, she cited her experience as a young mom. A former state legislator and US representative, Brown has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2006. He will be pushing a brand of Midwestern liberalism that mixes Trump's skepticism of trade agreements with Warren's concerns about Wall Street. An Iraq veteran and former state lawmaker, Gabbard was the first Hindu elected to Congress. But her past opposition to gay marriage and interactions with Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad make her a long shot in the Democratic primary. [ MUSIC ] The former mayor of San Antonio and Housing and Urban Development secretary, Castro has an unusual resume for a presidential candidate. But he believes his arguments on hot- button issues like immigration can help him break out. 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