Benjamin backs Bloomberg’s 2020 run. What this could signal for the Columbia mayor
Billionaire businessman and Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg won the endorsement of a key black S.C. Democrat Monday, despite his public plans to skip early voting states, including South Carolina, to focus instead on Super Tuesday states.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin confirmed Monday he will endorse the former New York City mayor — a possible newcomer to the 2020 race for the White House who has not campaigned in the Palmetto State. So far, Bloomberg has filed to run as a Democrat in 2020 on the Alabama and Arkansas ballots.
The endorsement was first reported by the (Columbia) Free Times, though Benjamin lay out his reasoning to McClatchy in his first extended interview on the matter.
The first priority is winning in November’s elections, Benjamin said, adding the party has “a talented field of candidates,” but “Mike Bloomberg is singular.”
“You have great businessmen who have run for president, distinguished public servants who have run for president, those with distinguished records of philanthropy who have run for president. It’s rare you get all three with one person,” he continued.
The endorsement ends Benjamin’s run as one of the few remaining high-profile S.C. Democrats who still haven’t backed a contender.
Benjamin’s support is considered important given his influence in South Carolina’s capital city and a leader in an international mayors association. But the relationship could be symbiotic.
Bloomberg, a media company cofounder who’s net worth is $53 billion according to Forbes, could be a deep-pocketed ally for Benjamin, who noted the money Bloomberg has spent tackling gun violence and climate change.
Bloomberg Philanthropies also enabled Benjamin to participate in the 2018 Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which allowed the city of Columbia to send “several civic, business and educational leaders” to New York City to “help develop our regional economic development strategy.”
Quietly, some Democrats question Benjamin’s decision, particularly given that Bloomberg is not campaigning in South Carolina.
“It’s great ground cover in what’s going to come down to a fight between the five or six who are polling at different levels and are heading toward a significant dust up in the initial primary,” said Columbia Democratic strategist Carey Crantford. “It’s kind of a side step. It’s a political side step in order to not have to weigh in. It may reflect his personal loyalties, if so great. In the world of strategy, it’s a political sidestep.”
Benjamin said he has known Bloomberg for some time: they overlapped for a few years during their tenures as chief executives of their respective cities.
Bloomberg called Benjamin “earlier this year, I think in January,” to discuss a possible potential presidential bid, Benjamin said, but the two men reconnected late last week at a group dinner in Washington, D.C. They were seated next to each other during the meal and discussed Bloomberg’s intentions further.
“I had some questions, he had some questions and I got a call late last week that he was going to be heading to Alabama and wanted me to know he was seriously thinking through the process and, if he got in, he wanted my support,” Benjamin said.
The Associated Press also reported Benjamin also sat in the audience Sunday at a Brooklyn church, where Bloomberg apologized for his support of the controversial “stop-and-frisk” police strategy.
Though Benjamin didn’t hesitate with an explanation as to why he was endorsing Bloomberg over the 18 Democratic candidates already in the field, the endorsement was raising eyebrows Monday morning.
Bloomberg is getting ready to jump in the race to give voters another alternative as Democratic anxiety mounts about who will be the most viable Trump challenger. For Benjamin to pick this newcomer suggests he is also feeling that anxiety.
However, Democrats still questioned the strategy behind the possible run.
“I don’t think it’s a good strategy. I wouldn’t do it if I were running for president,” said Carol Fowler, former chairwoman of the state Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee. “But on the other hand, when you have unlimited money that makes a difference. One thing that causes people to drop out is they run out of money. That’s never going to happen to Bloomberg.”
Does Bloomberg have a chance?
Skipping South Carolina’s pivotal, first-in-the South primary on Feb. 29 — considered a bellwether for how black Democrats will vote across the South — puts Bloomberg at a disadvantage in the race, political observers say.
On CNN last week, Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said it would be a “challenge” for Bloomberg to win over black voters, considering other 2020 contenders have made multiple stops in the state over the past year.
Put another way, Bloomberg’s chances of winning over black voters in South Carolina would be the equivalent of “pushing water up a hill,” said S.C. Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, who said he respected Benjamin’s decision to endorse Bloomberg.
“You cannot be the Democratic nominee without African American support,” Seawright said. “I don’t see a scenario where you can be the Democratic nominee and not have strong African American support coming out of South Carolina.”
Bloomberg’s last public stop to the state came in December 2018, when he visited Benedict College, a historically black university in Columbia, to help the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the majority whip and third-ranking Democrat in the House.
At Benedict, Bloomberg described himself as an everyman, saying despite his success he has always worked at a small desk.
A savvy political operator with his own political ambitions, Benjamin had been saying for months he would be watching all the candidates closely and would ultimately choose one who could prove his or her fundraising abilities and abilities to broadcast a strong and resonant message.
He told McClatchy his endorsement of Bloomberg was not an indictment of the other candidates.
But he said Monday he has been “concerned about the party veering too far left and winning a primary, but losing a general,” and that months ago “I’d expected the field to naturally thin itself.”
“I’m not nervous” about the current field, Benjamin said, “but I do believe that he can run an incredibly comprehensive campaign in every state in the country.”
Asked whether he saw an alliance with Bloomberg as politically expedient for his own future plans — whether a run for governor in 2022 or the chance of being on the Bloomberg presidential ticket or cabinet — Benjamin said no. He said if he was looking out for his own interests, he would have stayed out of the race entirely.
Endorsing one candidate in the current field, Benjamin argued, was a political risk.
If Bloomberg formally announces his candidacy later this week as expected, Benjamin said he would offer himself up as a surrogate, stumping for the former mayor across the country. He said he was already offering up suggestions for operatives and strategists who could join a Bloomberg campaign, across South Carolina and the country.
If Bloomberg does not ultimately join the race, Benjamin said he had no other plans to endorse another candidate.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 2:50 PM.
