Bloomberg campaign to support party’s presidential nominee even if it’s not him, NH campaign says
Former New York mayor’s campaign opens office, launches effort to elect Democrats up, down ticket in Granite State
Former New York mayor’s campaign opens office, launches effort to elect Democrats up, down ticket in Granite State
Mike Bloomberg’s new campaign operation in the Granite State will remain intact and help the Democratic presidential nominee and New Hampshire Democrats even if the former New York mayor fails to win the nomination, the top state campaign staffer said Monday.
“He’s committed to working to support the Democratic nominee, whether it’s him or whether it’s somebody else, and supporting the ticket here in New Hampshire,” said Ryan Mahoney, a former chief of staff to Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig who is now state director of the Bloomberg campaign.
Mahoney and a handful of other New Hampshire staffers hosted an office opening in Manchester attended by about a dozen people. They ate snacks, collected campaign bumper stickers, signs and lapel stickers and then heard from a Bloomberg campaign climate adviser from Arkansas.
That adviser and a few staffers arrived at the parking lot of the 264 Mammoth Road office on a campaign bus emblazoned with the words “Mike Bloomberg 2020” and “Get It Done Express.”
The hourlong event had all the characteristics of the typical political office opening, the kind of event Granite State activists have seen countless times. This one, though, was unusual for its timing.
Bloomberg did not campaign – or even file for the ballot – for the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary. His campaign in fact launched its effort the morning after the primary returns were counted.
“Donald Trump lost here in 2016 by less than 3,000 votes and we have a competitive governor’s race, Senate race, congressional races,” Mahoney said. “So, for me, having worked in the Democratic Party in New Hampshire for years, we understand that we have to have a united front.
"What I liked about what Mike was doing here in New Hampshire was putting that team together now and not waiting until July when you know who the nominee is 100 percent.”
“It’s a bit unique, but it’s all about winning in November,” regardless of who the nominee turns out to be, Mahoney said.
“Obviously, it’s going to look different if he’s the nominee, and then if he’s not, it will certainly transition into something more than ‘Mike Bloomberg 2020.’ But we’re going to have to see how that plays out.”
Mahoney said that while nomination contest continues in other states, in New Hampshire, “It’s going to be a lot about party-building, building the infrastructure, trying to set up offices, talking to folks who haven’t been exposed to Mike’s campaign because he wasn’t here in the primary,” Mahoney said.
“It’s just continuing those conversations with those Democratic volunteer supporters of other candidates just so that when the primary does end and we do have a nominee, that we’re all feeling comfortable working together.”
“This is all about beating Donald Trump in November,” Mahoney told the group. “We’re here to build the organization in New Hampshire to do that. We’re going to spend the next nine months building that infrastructure that’s necessary to defeat Donald Trump and elect Democrats up and down the ticket in New Hampshire.
“We know the president is going to target New Hampshire,” he said. “New Hampshire is going to be on the front line yet again in this presidential race.”
Mahoney introduced Glen Hooks, director of the Arkansas Sierra Club, who stressed that he is supporting Bloomberg in a personal capacity unrelated to the group. Hooks spoke about Bloomberg’s climate action plan, which Hooks called the best he has ever seen put forward by any candidate in many years of working in politics.
“The difference for me for Mike is not just that he’s saying the right things, but he’s been doing the rights things for years and years,” Hooks said. He cited as an example Bloomberg’s contributions of tens of millions of dollars to the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign to transition the nation away from coal-fired energy.
Afterward, Lynne Snierson, a communications consultant from Hampstead and a self-described lifelong Democrat, said the approach of the Bloomberg campaign is unusual.
“Why not wait until you get the nomination, if you’re going to get it? You don’t know you’re going to get it. I can see ramping up on day one and getting ready to go, but we’re kind of eight, nine months early to be here,” Snierson said.
“It’s extremely unusual and unconventional, but we’re living in extremely unusual and unconventional times.”
