Bloomberg Takes Lead in New National Democratic Primary Poll
Richard Moorhead
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Michael Bloomberg has taken the lead in a new national poll of the Democratic presidential primary, suggesting that the party may actually sell its nomination to the radical authoritarian oligarch.
The poll from Rasmussen Reports, released on Friday, has the former New York City mayor taking 26% support from national Democratic likely primary voters. Joe Biden comes in second with 22%, and Bernie Sanders comes in third with 18%.
The poll is possibly a sign of the strength of Bloomberg’s candidacy, which has adopted an approach of almost openly buying the support of prominent Democrats and carpet-bombing the airwaves of Super Tuesday states with unprecedented levels of campaign ad spending.
Bloomberg wasn’t even on the ballot in the Iowa Caucuses or New Hampshire primary, so his strength is real electoral contests is yet to be demonstrated. But it’s clear the ultra-billionaire, with a whopping net worth of more than $50 billion dollars, is a serious contender for the nomination, even though he shamelessly intends to buy it.
Ultimately Bloomberg’s biggest hindrance may be an abundance of “moderate” centrist candidates who are still competing in the Democratic primary. Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg draw from the wing of the Democratic Party opposed to a Bernie Sanders nomination, who appears to be the implicit front-runner after winning the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.
Bloomberg initially entered the race with an unwritten desire to block Sanders. The Vermont Democratic socialist takes the lead in several other polls of the national race, and he largely appears to be the candidate to beat until a candidate from the centrist wing can muster enough support to dominate their lane of the party.
The authoritarian mayor’s performance in the Super Tuesday primaries may dictate whether or not his campaign can actually take the nomination, or is little more than an expensive vanity project.
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