Money in politics helps, but it’s not everything
Money can’t buy you love, nor could it buy Mike Bloomberg the love of voters. The former New York mayor dropped out of the presidential race Wednesday after spending an unprecedented half a billion dollars on his campaign.
Lots of money can buy you lots of advertisements, though, which can certainly help with name recognition.
“As much money as you can spend, at the end of the day, putting in the time with the voters on the ground is what makes a difference, and making the case face to face,” democratic strategist Atima Omara said.
Bloomberg spent some time in Super Tuesday states, but Omara said he wasn’t as engaged as other candidates. Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics, said even though President Trump famously self-funded part of his campaign, his 2016 victory was an exception.
“He really was the exception to a long, long history where these rich billionaires [and] millionaires self-fund campaigns but can’t connect to voters,” Bryner said.
Even so, she said, Bloomberg likely isn’t done spending money in this race.
“I anticipate a lot of anti-Trump advertisements being brought to you by Bloomberg,” she said.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
