Bloomberg makes his case to Dems on Capitol Hill

[left-of-center2012]

Michael Bloomberg on Thursday took his pitch to Capitol Hill as he looks to squeeze his way into a crowded Democratic primary.

The New York billionaire met with dozens of Democrats as he sought to convince them of his highly unconventional — yet extraordinarily well-funded — road to the White House. Bloomberg’s message to members: His campaign isn’t wasting time on Iowa but is focused on defeating President Donald Trump with an unprecedented ground game in battleground states.

And for some, at least, it’s working. “I came away thinking, you know, this guy could win,” said Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), who attended back-to-back meetings with Bloomberg on Thursday. When Vargas asked the former mayor how he could actually secure the nomination, Bloomberg pointed out that “no one’s gotten the Democratic Party around them.”

Bloomberg used a slate of closed-door meetings to frame himself as a centrist who can go the distance against Trump and invest heavily in swing states. He's now working to woo lawmakers across the spectrum whose endorsements could be crucial to boosting his credibility as a national candidate outside of the early-voting states.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/16/bloomberg-capitol-hill-099882