Former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg addresses his staff and the media after announcing that he will be ending his campaign on March 04, 2020 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Former New York Mayor and ex-2020 presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is slated to spend $100 million in Florida to help Democratic nominee Joe Biden win the state.
The money “will be used to turn out voters for former Vice President Biden in Florida” by financing television and digital ads in both English and Spanish, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg told NBC News. The latest financial push gives the Biden camp more flexibility to spend money in other key states, like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Minnesota.
The move may also put pressure on Republicans and the Trump campaign to spend more in Florida, leaving less money to spend elsewhere.
In August, Biden eclipsed Trump’s reelection campaign and raised a colossal $364 million compared to the president’s reelection campaign raising $210 million. So far this year, the Trump campaign has spent more than $800 million, according to a recent New York Times probe of the campaign’s spending.
Read more: Trump campaign raises hefty $210 million in August, but it’s well short of Biden’s record haul
Trump and Biden are in a dead heat in Florida with 48% support each among likely voters, according to a recent NBC News/Marist poll. Trump was leading among Latinos, while Biden was doing better among seniors than Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump leads on the economy, while Biden performs better on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and race relations.
Trump won Florida by just over a single percentage point in 2016.
