Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has filed to have his name on the Alabama ballot along with other Democratic presidential contenders in 2020.
Representatives for Bloomberg, 77, filed the paperwork with the Alabama Democratic Party in Montgomery on Friday, which could make Bloomberg an eligible primary candidate on March 3, Super Tuesday. Despite filing for paperwork, a representative for Bloomberg said the New York billionaire has still not confirmed if he will join the race and that the Alabama filing was strictly for deadline purposes.
A representative for the Democratic Party confirmed that the paperwork was being reviewed.
The choice to file in Alabama reflects the state’s early filing deadline, which was on Friday. Four states will hold their Democratic primary or caucus before Super Tuesday, but Bloomberg will not be able to compete in those due to his choice to file much later than the other candidates.
“If we run, we are confident we can win in states voting on Super Tuesday and beyond, where we will start on an even footing,” Bloomberg adviser Howard Wolfson said in a statement. “But the late timing of our entry means that many candidates already have a big head start in the four early states, where they’ve spent months and months campaigning and spending money.”
He added, “We have enormous respect for the Democratic primary process and many friends in those states, but our plan is to run a broad-based, national campaign.”
Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $52 billion, has teased a potential run for the presidency for several months but said in March that he would not run. Sources close to him say that he more recently expressed concern about the ability of anyone in the field of Democratic candidates to defeat President Trump and revisited interest in a bid earlier this week.
Early in 2019, polling showed that Bloomberg was among the least popular potential candidates. With his enormous wealth that dwarfs the fortunes of other Democratic candidates and Trump, the former mayor has also said that he would not be taking any campaign contributions.
“We now need to finish the job and ensure that Trump is defeated — but Mike is increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned to do that,” Wolfson also said. “If Mike runs, he would offer a new choice to Democrats built on a unique record running America’s biggest city, building a business from scratch and taking on some of America’s toughest challenges as a high-impact philanthropist.”
