NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire and former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is considering a major spending blitz to back Joe Biden’s White House bid, CNBC reported on Friday.
The former New York mayor is committed to funding the candidate but is unsure whether the money will go to pro-Biden Super PACS, Biden’s joint fundraising effort with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) or another independent group, the network reported, citing people familiar with the conversations.
Former Vice President Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee to take on U.S. President Donald Trump in November. Biden and Trump each raised roughly $60 million in April, but Trump and the Republicans hold a sizable money advantage.
The Biden campaign declined to comment when asked by Reuters about the spending.
“As Mike has said, he supports Vice President Biden in defeating Donald Trump. We’re currently looking at how to best support (former) Vice President Biden, as well as Democratic victories up and down the ballot in November, just as Mike Bloomberg has done in previous cycles,” a Bloomberg spokeswoman said.
CNBC reported spending was in excess of $250 million, but Bloomberg’s campaign did not confirm that figure.
Any major financial support from Bloomberg for Biden does not include what he could also put toward assisting congressional Democrats and the DNC, CNBC reported.
Bloomberg dropped out of the Democratic nominating contests for president in March and quickly endorsed Biden.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Aurora Ellis)
