Politico | Inside Michael Bloomberg’s half-billion dollar belly flop
- Campaign aides knew they were in big trouble when the South Carolina results came in
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Sally Goldenberg and Christopher Cadelago on politico.com on March 4, 2020.
Michael Bloomberg left the West Palm Beach ballroom where his campaign held an upbeat Super Tuesday party feeling deflated but resolute. He knew the results coming in from across the country looked increasingly grim. But he wanted to assess the final count in the light of day before deciding whether to end his short-lived bid for the White House.
“As the results come in, here’s what is clear: no matter how many delegates we win tonight, we have done something no one thought was possible,” he told hundreds of cheering supporters who donned campaign T-shirts and waved “Mike Will Get It Done” signs.
By Wednesday morning, Bloomberg realised he could not get it done after all.
The billionaire businessman’s ambitious experiment bombed: he didn’t win a single Super Tuesday state, emerging victorious only in American Samoa – a devastating return on his investment of more than half a billion dollars.
So the former mayor flew back to New York City with his family on a private jet Tuesday evening and huddled early Wednesday morning with his closest advisers in one of his Manhattan offices. Alongside campaign manager Kevin Sheekey, chair Patti Harris and adviser Howard Wolfson, Bloomberg reviewed the final results from the biggest night of the Democratic primary, one that was essential to his strategy to win the nomination.