Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to shift his television ad message this week to directly call for President Donald Trump’s removal from office, with a new spot that will run in states with Republican senators who face competitive reelection fights this year.
The decision to spend money on impeachment ads in the states of vulnerable senators like Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Martha McSally, R-Ariz., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., fits into a larger strategy by Bloomberg since he started running for the Democratic nomination for president.
Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg speaks during a service at the Vernon American Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday. AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
He has tried to direct spending for his own long-shot presidential bid to also benefit other goals, like defeating Trump in November, even if he is not the nominee, and helping other Democrats down ballot.
The 30-second spot will begin running Monday afternoon in 27 states and on the national cable networks MSNBC, ESPN and CNN, replacing other ads that are already in rotation.
“It’s time for the Senate to act and remove Trump from office. And if they won’t do their jobs, this November, you and I will,” Bloomberg says in the ad.
With a net worth over $50 billion, Bloomberg has spent more than $225 million on advertising since announcing his presidential campaign on Nov. 24, according to the tracking firm Advertising Analytics.
He has also pledged $10 million to a Democratic group for television ads to defend vulnerable House Democrats against Republican-backed anti-impeachment ads, and has promised at least $15 million more to register potential Democratic voters in key general election swing states.
His campaign’s field teams in those states have been promised jobs to keep working for Trump’s defeat even if he loses the primary campaign. Depending on the state, those jobs will last either through the November election or July convention, according to campaign advisers.
The ad spending, and an expansive campaign operation that now includes more than 1,000 employees, has helped Bloomberg rise to fifth place in recent national Democratic nomination polls, with about 7% support.
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