Democratic primary front-runner Joe Biden and his team are increasingly concerned about 2020 rival Mike Bloomberg, a report said.
Allies of the 2020 hopeful have started to worry about the possibility that the former Big Apple mayor could split the moderate vote and hand the nomination to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), according to The Hill.
Bloomberg, who entered the primary battle too late to compete in Iowa and New Hampshire, has focused his resources on Super Tuesday states — where about one-third of all delegates will be collected.
Biden allies have been working to fend off former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to set up the former VP as the moderate candidate to beat.
While that effort appears to be making strides, as evidenced by recent polling pitting Biden against Sanders for the top spot, the campaign has felt a sense of worry over the impending Bloomberg face-off, the outlet reported.
That divide could create an opening for Sanders, a self-professed Democratic socialist who has a strong hold on the progressive vote, to cruise to the general election as the party’s nominee.
Bloomberg entered the race in late November with the thought that Biden did not have what it takes to clinch the centrist vote and take on President Trump in the general election.
He also expressed worry over the idea of far-left candidates like Sanders or Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) moving the country too far out of the political mainstream.
Spokespeople for Bloomberg and Biden could not immediately be reached for comment by The Post.