Bloomberg faces moment of truth
Presidential Elections,Democratic Debates,Michael Bloomberg,Elections
The Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday just got much more interesting.
A poll released Tuesday made former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg eligible to take the stage for the first time since launching his campaign in late November.
His rivals will be out to get him.
The billionaire businessman has been rising sharply in the polls — a fact that virtually everyone, friend or foe, attributes to his colossal spending on TV advertising.
In the new national poll from NPR, PBS and Marist, Bloomberg was at 19 percent, good enough for second place to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his 31 percent support.
Bloomberg now poses a mortal political threat to the other contenders for the Democratic nomination, who have spent many more months toiling to raise money and campaigning on the ground in the four early voting states.
Bloomberg has chosen not to compete in the first contests. He won’t be on the ballot until March 3, when 14 states vote on Super Tuesday.
To his rivals, Bloomberg is engaged in a blatant attempt to buy the nomination. To his supporters, he is legitimately using his resources to make the case that he is the most electable candidate to take on President Trump in November.
Enmity between the pro- and anti-Bloomberg factions has been rising in tandem with his poll ratings. It has come to a boil in recent days and could spill over into the debate.
