Michael Bloomberg Set To Make Debate Debut In Nevada

For the first time, former New York City mayor and presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg will be appearing onstage with his fellow candidates in the upcoming Democratic presidential primary debate this week.

Bloomberg managed to qualify for the debate set to be held in Nevada this Wednesday after a poll from NPR/PBS/NewsHour/Marist found him polling at 19 percent support nationally. Per the Democratic National Committee’s recently revised debate qualifications, this means Bloomberg will be allowed to participate.

Previously, Bloomberg had been excluded from the debates as he was unable to meet all of the criteria put forth by the DNC, including having a certain number of campaign donors. Because Bloomberg has so far funded his campaign entirely out of his own pocket, he has no donors. The DNC, however, recently agreed to remove that prerequisite, opening the door for the former mayor to join future debates.

Although a late entry into the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bloomberg has experienced steadily growing support across the country. Polling in recent weeks shows Bloomberg having risen swiftly into third place, passing up Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.. Now, he’s only a few points behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who is sitting at second behind Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Kevin Sheeky, Bloomberg’s campaign manager, said the candidate “is looking forward to joining the other Democratic candidates on stage and making the case for why he’s the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump and unite the country.”

Bloomberg’s rising popularity can no doubt be attributed, at least in part, to his massive advertising blitz, which so far has entailed spending over $300 million.

Despite Bloomberg’s growing support and debate qualification, the candidate has recently faced several controversies following the resurfacing of past recordings and statements. Most recently, a collection of off color remarks made by Bloomberg became public, containing a number of sexist statements made by the candidate over the years.

Before that, in a recording from 2018, Bloomberg could be heard defending raising taxes on low-income individuals while arguing that taxes on the wealthy is a major problem.

Additionally, an audio recording from 2005 has also surfaced, in which Bloomberg defended the use of the controversial “stop and frisk” policing policy in New York City while mayor. The practice has often been heavily criticized for encouraging racial profiling and toeing the line regarding constitutional rights.

These resurfaced statements will no doubt be addressed during the debate on Wednesday and used as a point of attack for his rivals. As this will be Bloomberg’s first debate during the primary, it remains to be seen how he will address these controversies.