Mike Bloomberg Commits $100 Million To Biden Campaign In Florida

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Former New York mayor and one-time presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg has committed $100 million to support former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in his Florida campaign as the November election heats up.

Bloomberg's announcement on Sunday followed a change by Cook Political Report that rated Florida as a "toss-up" state in the presidential election. Florida had been rated as "lean-D" in the race.

"Other polls show Trump competitive in Florida," a Bloomberg spokesperson said. "As a home away from home for Trump, he has had a many-year head-start campaigning there and also said just last week he’d be willing to put his own money into his campaign."

Bloomberg's announcement caught the attention of President Donald Trump who attacked the former mayor's debate performance during the campaign for the Democrat nomination.

At stake is Florida's 29 electoral votes, making the Sunshine State a key battleground on the road to the White House.

Only California and Texas have more electoral votes than Florida with 55 and 38 respectively. New York has the same number as Florida.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump list Palm Beach as their primary residence, which may be considered an advantage for the Republican.

"Florida starts voting on September 24. Given the importance of absentee ballots this year, it’s important to note that Florida typically counts its mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day, meaning we could have a clear answer on who wins those 29 electoral college votes quickly," the Bloomberg spokesperson said.

The $100 million will be used to turn out voters for Biden in Florida through Bloomberg's Independence USA and other Democrat groups. The Bloomberg money will allow Democrats and the Biden campaign to spend other money in places like Pennsylvania, which is also considered critical to the Biden ticket.

"Communicating with Hispanic voters will be a key part of the strategy," the Bloomberg spokesperson said.

Bloomberg has "given heavily" to other battleground and voter turnout programs, according to the spokesperson.

"Mike became and remains the largest funder to the DNC this cycle, when he gave the party the crucial, early money it needed to go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump's organization as early as March," the spokesperson said. "His campaign made $18 million transfer of funds to the DNC, funding their battleground states program, and transferred 13 office leases to state parties."

Bloomberg's other political contributions include:

• $5 million to Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight 2020 effort
• $500,000 to Voto Latino in Mar 20 to help fund its efforts to register 500,000 new voters this election cycle
• $2 million to Collective Future in Mar 20 to register Black voters in key states
• $2 million to Swing Left in Mar 2020
• $60 million to protect and strengthen the House via his own PAC and House Majority PAC
• $35 million in Hawkfish to help Democrats counter Trump's digital operation.