According to the Washington Post, failed billionaire Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, who spent hundreds of millions on his failed 2020 Democratic presidential bid before dropping out, plans to spend at least $100 million in Florida to help
Democrat Joe Biden's campaign against President Donald Trump.
Reports Sunday from multiple media outlets say the failed Democrat presidential candidate made his decision last week after news reports that President Trump was considering spending up to $100 million of his own cash in his adopted state, the newspaper said.
"Voting starts on Sept. 24 in Florida so the need to inject real capital in that state quickly is an urgent need," Bloomberg adviser Kevin Sheekey told the Post. "Mike believes that by investing in Florida it will allow campaign resources and other Democratic resources to be used in other states, in particular the state of Pennsylvania."
The New York Times last week reported that Trump’s initial financial supremacy over former Vice President Biden earlier this year had evaporated, and that of the $1.1 billion his campaign and the party raised from the beginning of 2019 through July, more than $800 million already had been spent.
According to the latest NBC News/Marist poll President Trump and Biden are deadlocked in the battleground of Florida, with ballots being mailed to state voters later this month.
Trump and Biden both get the support of 48 percent of likely voters, with the president ahead among Latinos in the state, and Biden doing better with seniors than Hillary Clinton did four years ago.
Among a wider universe of all registered voters, it’s Trump 48 percent, Biden 47 percent.
A new AARP public opinion survey also shows Joe Biden and President Donald Trump are locked in a tight contest among likely Florida voters in Florida. While Biden leads Trump 48 percent to 46 percent among all Sunshine State voters, Trump has opened a 50 percent to 47 percent margin over Biden among voters age 50 and older, the crucial demographic in Florida.
The survey also found that the majority of Floridians (63 percent) will cast their ballot either by mail or by voting early in person. One-third of those polled said they will go to a polling place on Election Day.
The AARP is not particularly friendly to Republicans, so overall, the AARP poll is good news for the Trump campaign and the future of constitutional liberty, but there is reason for great concern as well.
The survey also found that the majority of Floridians (63 percent) will cast their ballot either by mail or by voting early in person and at present the Democrats hold a huge advantage in Florida mail-in ballots.
Jacob Ogles, reporting for Florida Politics, says Democrats in Florida are ahead of Republicans by over 700,000 mail ballot requests for the November 3 presidential election.
The Florida Democratic Party announced Friday that more than 2.22 million Democrats registered to vote by mail. That expands their enrollment advantage to 717,000 over Republicans.
The gap between Democrat and Republican requests grew substantially in August reported Mr. Ogles. The state party announced at the end of July it enjoyed an edge of half a million voter enrollments. The gap over Republicans has grown roughly 40% in the intervening weeks.
Of course, noted Mr. Ogles, requesting ballots isn’t the same as voting. In 2016, more Democrats asked for ballots than GOP voters and Republican Donald Trump won Florida over Democrat Hillary Clinton by almost 113,000 votes.
That enrollment lead, though, was far more modest, with only around 8,800 more Democrats requesting ballots than Republicans. Florida Democrats enjoyed a greater advantage in 2018, with around 50,000 more enrollments, but still narrowly lost statewide races for Senate and Governor observed Mr. Ogles.
Democrats see the exponentially higher number of mail enrollments as a solid sign in the battle to win Florida’s 29 electoral votes for Democrat Joe Biden in November.
“Democrats saw significant increases in vote by mail turnout in the August primary and we are ready to keep our foot on the gas going into November,” Terrie Rizzo, Florida Democratic Party chair said according to Mr. Ogles reporting. “Democrats are committed to getting out the vote and electing Joe Biden and Democrats all across Florida this election.”
The significant difference in mail ballot requests less than 60 days from the election is of great concern, given the results of the AARP poll which indicates 63 percent of Florida voters will vote absentee and the potential impact of Bloomberg’s $100 million commitment to boost Biden’s campaign in Florida.
2020 Election
Michael Bloomberg
Florida
Pennsylvania
mail-in ballots
early voting
ballot requests
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