Mike Bloomberg says he’s going to run for the Democratic presidential nomination until “the bitter end” — even if Bernie Sanders claims a plurality of delegates.
The former New York City mayor said in an interview Friday that he feels he can still beat front-runner Sanders, a Vermont senator running to carry out a left-wing political “revolution.”
“I’m going to stay right ’til the bitter end, as long as I have a chance,” Bloomberg told MSNBC, days ahead of the 14-state Super Tuesday contests.
Bloomberg hasn’t been on the ballot in the four early-voting states and is vying with former Vice President Joe Biden and other candidates for centrist votes to stop the openly socialist Sanders.
The three-term former mayor, worth an estimated $65 billion, this week passed $500 million in expenses for his late-announced presidential bid. He said he intends to stay in the race if Sanders cannot claim a majority of Democratic delegates.
“If it’s just a plurality, you gotta be in it to win it,” he told MSNBC.
“Why would I spend all of this money and all this time out of my life and wear and tear, you know,” Bloomberg said, adding: “I’m running a race and I’m behind with one lap to go. What, am I going to quit? No, you run harder.”
Bloomberg is seeking to overcome poorly rated debate performances and liberal unease about his past support for “stop-and-frisk” policing in New York and reported workplace remarks about women.
The outcome of Tuesday voting in states including delegate-rich California, Texas, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Virginia may determine if Sanders is stoppable after popular-vote wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Establishment Democrats openly fear President Trump will be re-elected in a landslide if Sanders is the party’s nominee.