Bloomberg move signals likely bid for presidency
Michael Bloomberg flew to Arkansas on Tuesday to personally file paperwork to become a presidential candidate in the state’s Democratic primary, sending a highly public signal about his strong interest in entering the 2020 race.
Bloomberg arrived in Little Rock, Ark., with a few aides, according to two people familiar with his activities. Arkansas is the second state in which he will be on the Democratic primary ballot, after qualifying to put his name on the ballot in Alabama on Friday. The two Southern states both have early filing deadlines, even though they are not among the first primaries on the calendar.
“Mike wanted to go and do the filing himself,” said Jason Schechter, a spokesman for
Bloomberg. “If he runs, he’s going to go to states that Democrats never go to in the primary campaign. We’re starting that today in Arkansas.”
Bloomberg planned to have lunch at Sims BBQ with the mayor of Little Rock, Frank Scott Jr., during a brief visit to the city.
Bloomberg is considering a trip to North Carolina as soon as this week, two people briefed on his plans said. The state’s filing deadline is not imminent, but similar to Arkansas it is among the Super Tuesday contests in early March that Bloomberg would aim to contest aggressively as a candidate.
In a further sign that Bloomberg is likely to run, one of his longtime lieutenants informed the Pete Buttigieg campaign that he could no longer back the South Bend, Ind., mayor in a primary that included Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire media executive, is expected to make a final decision within days on whether to proceed with a presidential campaign. People close to him believe his mind is all but made up and his advisers have been recruiting potential campaign staff at a furious pace since the end of last week.
But Bloomberg has not yet made any formal announcement, and there is at least a chance he could back away from the campaign.
Bloomberg is one of several prominent Democrats weighing a late entry into the 2020 campaign. Most serious besides Bloomberg is former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, who could jump into the race as soon as this week.
Patrick and his allies have been reaching out to Democrats in the early primary and caucus states, and Patrick spoke last week with former Vice President Joe Biden to tell him he was considering the race.