How important is Florida to Bloomberg? He’ll spend Super Tuesday in West Palm Beach
Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg will watch Super Tuesday contest returns from West Palm Beach, a sign of just how important Florida is to the former New York mayor’s campaign.
Bloomberg’s campaign announced Thursday that he will hold a campaign rally at the West Palm Beach Convention Center Tuesday night as election results come in from 14 states. The results — widely considered to be a deciding factor in the viability of most campaigns — will be the first of Bloomberg’s campaign after his belated decision to run for president kept him from the ballot in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Bloomberg’s West Palm Beach event — located a short drive from President Donald Trump’s full-time residence at Mar-a-Lago — is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. as polls close in the East.
Bloomberg has campaigned extensively in Super Tuesday states, making stops in California, Texas, North Carolina and other major states where the primary will be held Tuesday. But he has also invested millions of dollars in Florida, hiring a staff of more than 150 and opening 14 field offices ahead of the state’s March 17 primary.
Outside of California, Texas and New York, Florida is the largest prize on the primary calendar, with 219 delegates. It remains a key battleground state in the general election.
“We understand how important and delegate-rich the state of Florida is in terms of our overall campaign strategy,” Scott Kosanovich, Bloomberg’s Florida state director, said in an interview. “You win Florida you become president. And we firmly believe that if we do well in Florida [on March 17], it sends us on a solid trajectory to win the nomination and head toward November.”
Polls have shown Bloomberg running a competitive campaign in Florida, where more than 278,000 Democrats have already cast mail ballots. A St. Pete Polls survey released Thursday found Bloomberg behind former Vice President Joe Biden in Florida by eight points among Democrats who have already voted, with 29% saying they cast their mail ballot for Bloomberg.
In 2016, presidential candidates Trump, Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio all chose to spend Super Tuesday in South Florida.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
