Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is directing $80 million toward Democratic campaigns and political groups ahead of the midterm elections, according to The New York Times — a late surge of money from the party's most reliable mega-donor, arriving in the final two weeks of the campaign.
The largest pieces of the spending, as reported, are $24 million to Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control group Bloomberg founded; $16 million to House Majority PAC, the super PAC supporting Democratic House candidates; $8 million toward Democratic gubernatorial races; $2.5 million to James Talarico, the Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in Texas; and $2.5 million to Kathy Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York, with the rest spread across other races and groups.
Bloomberg's adviser says the goal is to help Democrats secure a substantial House majority under Hakeem Jeffries, arguing that even a small difference in seats can have a major impact — on committees, on investigations, and on what legislation can move at all. The Bloomberg money lands against a Republican operation that is itself flush: the Republican National Committee has been moving more than $50 million into the congressional races from a treasury that held $126 million, and President Trump says he has spent, or plans to spend, more than $400 million supporting Republicans this cycle.
Should political mega-donors face the same scrutiny regardless of which party they support?
The spending raises questions about the influence of wealthy donors in American politics. Elon Musk faced intense scrutiny for his political spending on the Republican side, and Bloomberg's reported investment is prompting renewed debate over whether the same standards are applied to billionaires on both sides. Bloomberg, a former New York mayor who spent a fortune on his own 2020 presidential run, has been the Democrats' largest single donor across recent cycles. Whether his $80 million buys the House majority his adviser describes is a question only November 3 can answer.