Bloomberg to travel through Austin in campaign swing

Nicole Cobler
ncobler@statesman.com
Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is scheduled to make a campaign appearance in Austin on Saturday. [Eric Risberg/The Associated Press]

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will stop in Austin on Saturday as part of a bus tour through Texas.

The 77-year-old billionaire, who entered the crowded Democratic presidential field in November, also said Tuesday that he will make campaign stops in San Antonio and Dallas on the same day. Bloomberg’s campaign did not release additional details on his plans.

"We are bringing together voters from every corner of our nation to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Together, we are taking him on in every state and territory, and building a coalition of Americans committed to solving our biggest problems and fixing what's broken in America."

It will be Bloomberg’s third trip to Texas as a candidate. He plans to open a state headquarters in Houston and 16 field offices around the state.

A campaign official told NBC News on Monday that the campaign has 500 organizers and staff in more than 30 states.

“We have organizers, volunteers, and supporters in all corners of states throughout the country,” Dan Kanninen, states director for Bloomberg, said in a statement, adding that the campaign effort “is just the beginning of a nationwide momentum to elect Mike and defeat Donald Trump in November.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont also have ramped up their efforts in Texas.

Warren’s campaign opened an Austin office in December and announced that it has hired more than two dozen full-time senior staffers and organizers across the state.

Biden picked up additional Texas endorsements Tuesday, including nine prominent supporters of Julián Castro before he ended his presidential bid. The endorsements, first reported by The Texas Tribune, include five state representatives.

And Sanders will travel around Texas this month, his campaign announced Tuesday. He’ll make stops in more than a dozen cities, including El Paso, Lubbock, Fort Worth and College Station.

Warren, Biden and Bloomberg are the only Democratic candidates with a Texas state director.