Bloomberg drops out of presidential race

Former New York City mayor and major philanthropist Michael Bloomberg is officially ending his presidential campaign after a poor showing during Super Tuesday, City & State reports. He is now throwing his weight between former Vice President Joe Biden amid pressures from Democrats to back a viable moderate candidate.

Bloomberg had spent more than half a billion dollars on his campaign and has already pledged to invest more money opposing Trump going into the general election – regardless of the Democratic nominee. But his major spending wasn’t enough to keep his momentum going, especially amid a series of scandals about his record as mayor. His record of aggressive policing in black and Latino communities, in particular, haunted him on the campaign trail, though he started his campaign by trying to make amends. On top of that, old lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and discrimination at his company resurfaced and came up prominently during the Democratic debates. 

Scrutiny of his philanthropic record loomed large as well. The ninth-richest man in the world was the top giver nationally last year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s latest rankings of charitable giving, and much of that generosity has increasingly been seen with a critical eye. Media outlets noticed that mayors of cities that have benefited from his foundation’s initiatives were backing his presidential bid. This harkens back to similar strategies he used during his time as mayor, often financially supporting nonprofits and community groups to gain electoral and political support. “When church groups or community organizations threatened to get noisy in opposition to him or his programs, he wrote checks that tended to quiet them down,” wrote Edward-Isaac Dovere in the Atlantic about Bloomberg’s time as mayor.

While Bloomberg’s presidential campaign has come to an end, he is sure to remain a major force in national politics and philanthropy for years to come.