Pledging to stay in “for the long haul,” Democrat Michael Bloomberg opened the first state headquarters of his presidential campaign Sunday in Charlotte.
Bloomberg’s appearance underscored his strategy of bypassing the early contest states such as Iowa and New Hampshire in favor of states like North Carolina that vote on March 3 or later.
“It’s one of those states that nobody else goes to,” he said of North Carolina. Other candidates, he added, “are all focused on the early four (states) . . . You’re going to have to win the whole country to get the opportunity to take on Donald Trump.”
If you’ve noticed, Bloomberg’s been running TV ads heavily here in North Carolina. It will be interesting to see which way out state votes comes March. A political scientist told the Charlotte Observer he’s skeptical of Bloomberg’s strategy of focusing solely on Super Tuesday states:
“It’s not proven to be a successful strategy in the past,” Josh Putnam, a political scientist who runs Frontloading HQ, a site that tracks the presidential selection process, told the Observer. “We’ve not had a candidate with as many financial resources as he has attempt a strategy like this. Even still, it’s an uphill climb.”
