A person wearing a campaign button with Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign logo on it. | Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
TALLAHASSEE — First came the ads. Then came the staff.
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has spent weeks flooding Florida media markets with ads touting his business acumen and jabbing President Donald Trump, but his operation now is expanding in a state that could make or break the billionaire media mogul’s presidential aspirations.
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Bloomberg has made a round of key state staff hires. He’s plowing millions of dollars each week into television ads. And over the next two weeks, 50 organizers will begin work at more than 20 regional campaign offices across the state.
The blitz is part of Bloomberg’s unconventional, skip-the-early-states strategy, which puts its focus — and the candidate’s ample supply of cash — on delegate-rich March primary states, including Florida and its 219 delegates.
"Florida is a critical March state and key battleground state for beating Donald Trump this fall,” Bloomberg states director Dan Kanninen told POLITICO. “While other Democrats focus on the early states, Trump is spending time in key states and we are the only campaign building a truly national campaign that can compete everywhere, including Florida.”
Florida’s March 17 primary has pushed the state out of the national spotlight, but an extended primary could make Florida a contest kingmaker.
Bloomberg’s unprecedented level of early ad spending has been growing at a clip of $2 million a week in Florida over the past month.
As of Dec. 3, his campaign had spent $6.4 million on Florida buys, a number that has more than doubled to at least $14.3 million just a month later. His Florida ad splurge is surpassed only by his spending in California ($20 million) and Texas ($15.9 million), both of which have primaries ahead of Florida.
And Bloomberg is the only campaign to make noteworthy, Florida-specific buys. The only other Democratic candidate to shell out for Florida airtime is Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), whose campaign has spent $16,000 as of Jan. 6.
“If he has any chance to pull this off, Florida will absolutely be critical to the plan,” unaffiliated Democratic consultant Dan Newman said, “which is why he’s already on TV so heavily here.”
Bloomberg also is building a battalion of Florida staff.
Along with Brandon Davis, an alumnus of Andrew Gillum’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee, Bloomberg has hired Scott Kosanovich, who most recently was campaign director for Florida House Victory, which coordinates Florida Democratic statehouse races, to serve as his Florida state director.
Tim Wagner, who ran campaigns for state Sen. Janet Cruz (D-Tampa) and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, will serve as Bloomberg’s deputy state director. Jessica Montgomery, the campaign’s organizing director, previously worked on Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) presidential campaign.
The hiring spree comes as Bloomberg’s staff in Super Tuesday states, which vote two weeks before Florida, balloons to more than 800.
Justin Day, a Democratic fundraiser previously with the now-shuttered presidential campaign of Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, said that with Davis running the show, there likely will be overlap between Bloomberg’s campaign and Gillum’s 2018 failed gubernatorial bid
“He is well-organized and should bring some Gillum relationships to the table,” said Day, who is not currently aligned with a presidential campaign. “Anytime a candidate has a bottomless pile of money to be spent on media and organizing, they are going to disrupt the process.”
Bloomberg could use Florida to kneecap the campaigns of other candidates perceived to be in the moderate lane of the Democratic primary, such as Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, Day said. Supporters of Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won’t be swayed.
“Not sure if the question is, ‘Will Bloomberg win Florida?’ as much as, ‘Which campaign will he hurt more?’” Day said. “Probably Biden and Mayor Pete. Not sure there are a lot of Warren or Sanders voters possibly switching to Bloomberg.”
Biden hasn’t opened a single office in the state but his supporters say he holds a structural advantage that includes dozens of early endorsements from Democrats in the state Legislature.
Biden has “two very real advantages”, said Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic consultant running a pro-Biden super PAC. His coalition of support is diverse and he has strong relationships throughout the state from his years as vice president.
Schale also questioned Bloomberg’s choice to ignore early primary states and the Iowa caucuses.
“While Bloomberg’s ability to spend is unprecedented, there’s never been a candidate in the modern era who has won the nomination without competing in the first four states,” he said. “On the GOP side, there are plenty of failed examples of former candidates who built their nomination on Florida.”
Public polling shows Biden ahead in Florida, but the early surveys were made before the state Democratic primary was drawing attention. Biden and Warren are the only campaigns with any real Florida footprint.
Democrats at all levels in Florida hope that Bloomberg’s personal wealth can benefit down-ticket candidates. The theory: That his and other Democratic money will flood the state to take aim at Trump, boosting local party candidates in tight races. There’s also hope that presidential candidate money will trickle down directly to local candidates.
“The Bloomberg presence in Florida will certainly bring more boots on the ground,” Cruz said. “That investment will help Democrats cross the finish line with victories.”
Democratic state Rep. Evan Jenne, a Broward County Democrat and one of two incoming House minority leaders, hopes Bloomberg money makes its way directly to state House races, but said Bloomberg’s attack ads already are helping in a year when even local candidates will be taking Trump’s name in vain.
“It depends on how Mayor Bloomberg spends his money, but I think no matter what it can help us with no-party-affiliation voters,” said Jenne, who helps coordinate House Democratic campaigns. “I don’t think it will be some complete game-changer, but I definitely thinks it helps us.”
Rob Diamond, Bloomberg’s east region director, said the campaign is still finessing its strategy, but can help down-ticket races.
“We know that our building an operation this early that covers the entire state will benefit candidates up and down the ticket, which is fundamentally part of the strategy,” he said. “We will continue to flush out more detailed aspects where we can increasingly be more effective.”
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