Following the most expensive, and failed, presidential primary campaign in history, Michael Bloomberg could be forgiven for throwing in the towel.
But after spending more than $1 billion on his own electoral efforts earlier this year, the former mayor of New York City followed that up with $100 million in spending in Florida for former Vice President Joe Biden that led to nothing.
In Florida, President Trump expanded his performance there significantly from 2016, earning over 51% of the vote. In both Ohio and Texas, where Bloomberg also spent millions, his margins of victory there were nearly identical to that of 2016.
A breakdown of the spending shows Bloomberg, whose net worth is estimated at northward of $54 billion, shelled out $36 million on television ads in Florida between September and November and over $15 million on ads in Texas and Ohio.
Bloomberg’s team insisted after the races were called that the businessman’s strategy was simply to force Trump to exert resources in those states to help Biden in Rust Belt states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
All-in, Bloomberg spent over $1.2 billion on electoral efforts in the last year. His billion-dollar-plus quixotic presidential primary campaign resulted in a mere 49 delegates.
