Mike Bloomberg transfers campaign assets to Democratic Party to fight Trump in swing states [View all]

[RandySF]

ormer New York mayor Mike Bloomberg has decided to donate significant components of his shuttered presidential campaign to the Democratic Party, a historic bequest that includes an $18 million cash infusion to organize for the general election in swing states.

The decision, which exploits a provision in campaign finance law available only to federal candidates, amounts to a shift in strategy for the billionaire political activist, who had previously promised to personally fund ground staff and offices in six states through an independent expenditure effort.

He now hopes that much of the same operation will be run through the state and national Democratic Party, which would allow forit to directly coordinatewith the Democratic nominee, who he expects to be former vice president Joe Biden.An independent expenditure campaign is barred from such coordination.

“While we considered creating our own independent entity to support the nominee and hold the President accountable, this race is too important to have many competing groups with good intentions but that are not coordinated and united in strategy and execution,” Bloomberg’s campaign wrote Friday to Democratic Chairman Tom Perez in a memo.

To accomplish thegoal, Bloomberg will transfer cash remaining in his presidential campaign account, which he donated, to the Democratic National Committee’s Battleground Build-Up 2020 effort for use in the general election. The money will allow the party to hire hundreds of additional organizers, party officials say. He will also transfer the long-term leases he has signed on some offices in some swing states to state Democratic parties.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mike-bloomberg-transfers-his-campaign-assets-to-democratic-party-to-fight-president-trump-in-swing-states/2020/03/20/43c62d60-6927-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_politics&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss