Billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced on Sunday he is pleding at least $100 million to help Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the crucial state of Florida against President Donald Trump.
Bloomberg, whose net worth is estimated at more than $50 billion, spent about $1 billion on his own failed Democratic primary bid before dropping out and endorsing Biden. He vowed to “do whatever it takes to defeat Trump” and has contributed millions to help Democratic candidates in 2020. He transferred $18 million from his presidential campaign to the Democratic National Committee.
It has been nearly 100 years since a Republican won a presidential election without Florida. A Biden victory there would hurt Trump’s path towards winning the Electoral College and would require the president to win states such as Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Most polls found Biden with a strong lead in Florida through July, before dropping to less than half that by the end of August. Most of Bloomberg’s contribution will go toward television and digital advertising in the state where Republicans are outspending Democrats by about $8 million, according to The Associated Press. The ads will be in both English and Spanish as polls show Biden trailing Trump among Latino voters in the state.
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