Michael Bloomberg, a potential 2020 presidential candidate, made a personal pitch to Iowa Monday about the benefits of tackling climate change, ahead of his first visit to the state after the 2018 midterm elections.
“A recent op-ed in the Des Moines Register called for aspiring presidential candidates to present a bold vision for taking on climate change. I couldn’t agree more: We need stronger leadership in Washington on this issue. But Americans aren’t waiting around for it,” Bloomberg wrote Monday in an opinion piece for the Des Moines Register.
Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, businessman, and billionaire philanthropist, is traveling to Iowa, the state that hosts the country’s first nominating caucuses, for a string of events this week, including a Dec. 4 screening of “Paris to Pittsburgh.” The Bloomberg-funded, Radical Media-produced documentary touts the environmental and economic advantages of cutting carbon emissions, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, who in October re-registered as a Democrat following stints as a Republican and independent, told the Associated Press last month that he would decide whether to officially launch a bid for the White House by January or February. He is one of many Democrats mulling whether they want to run in 2020.
Bloomberg spent more than $110 million ahead of the 2018 midterm cycle boosting Democratic candidates, including a $5 million advertising campaign released on the eve of the Nov. 6 elections that featuring himself speaking directly to camera. He also spends heavily in support of other liberal causes, such as gun control measures.
