Bloomberg spent $12 million to re-elect Rep Senator Pat Toomey (PA) in 2016 [View all]

[melman]

WASHINGTON — In 2016, Democrats thought they had found the perfect candidate to win a United States Senate seat in Pennsylvania and put them within striking distance of taking back the majority. But Katie McGinty, an environmental policy expert with degrees in chemistry and law, ran into an overwhelming obstacle: Michael R. Bloomberg’s fortune.


The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey, who had led an effort, albeit unsuccessful, to expand background checks for gun purchasers, a top priority of Mr. Bloomberg’s.


Mr. Toomey won by less than two percentage points, handing a key victory to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell: The Republicans held on to control of the chamber by two seats. At the time, it was the most expensive Senate race the country had ever seen, and Mr. Bloomberg’s money was one of the largest influxes of outside influence.


As Mr. Bloomberg begins his campaign for the White House with a promise to spend as much as it takes to defeat President Trump, his Democratic rivals are accusing him of trying to buy his way into the Oval Office. But his political spending on behalf of Republicans is also coming under attack from Democrats who say that his overlapping political goals with Republicans in Washington, and in particular with Mr. McConnell, are disqualifying.

“For many he went too far when he gave money to Pat Toomey,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic consultant and former senior aide to Harry Reid, the previous Senate leader, pointing out that Ms. McGinty also favored stricter gun regulations and that the race was so close.

“He tries to play both sides, and he ends up burning Democrats,” Mr. Manley added. “If that makes you feel good, I’m glad. But the reality is there are no free shots.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-republicans-donations.html