Michael Bloomberg is taking a hard look at Nevada, South Carolina and 14 states that vote in March’s “Super Tuesday” — rather than Iowa and New Hampshire — as he prepares his late presidential bid, The Post has learned.
The move will give Bloomberg’s nascent campaign crucial additional weeks to get up to speed and compete against rival Democrats who have been on the ground for months, sources told The Post.
It also means the former three-term New York City mayor and billionaire would effectively write off competing in the first two Democratic contests, the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
Nevada votes on Feb. 22 and South Carolina on Feb. 29, while voters hit the polls on Feb. 3 in Iowa and Feb. 11 in New Hampshire.
Bloomberg has connections to Nevada. The gun control group he bankrolls — Everytown for Gun Safety — says it spent $3.5 million backing gun-control candidates in 2018 alone.
Meanwhile, sources say Bloomberg and his aides believe South Carolina’s pro-business tilt and large number of moderate African American voters make it another possible win.
The 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday include Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia. Democrats abroad also vote on Super Tuesday.
Bloomberg’s immense $52 billion fortune means he has the resources to blanket the airwaves in those states.
Some political experts said Bloomberg could get away with skipping Iowa but snubbing nearby New Hampshire is a riskier proposition.
“New Hampshire is a better bet. New Hampshire is an open primary, which is better for him and he can blanket the Boston TV market,” said University of Southern California professor Robert Shrum, who managed Al Gore and John Kerry’s White House bids.
Shrum pointed out that another former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, gambled in 2008 by skipping the early states to focus on Florida — only to see the strategy backfire spectacularly.
Bloomberg also faces the hurdle of qualifying for the upcoming Democratic debates.
Party rules require candidates collect donations from at least 165,000 contributors for the Nov. 20 debate and over 200,000 for the December 19 debate, as well as meet polling thresholds.
Bloomberg has never needed to raise vast sums of money or build a base of small-dollar donors. He personally bankrolled the half-billion dollars he shelled out on his mayoral campaigns.
Team Bloomberg will also have to find staffers — a likely tough task because his well-established opponents have scooped up much of the talent.
Bloomberg’s already in a knotty conflict with Joe Biden involving a powerhouse consulting firm, Knickerbocker SKD.
SKD managing partner Anita Dunn is a senior adviser to Joe Biden’s campaign. But another managing partner, Robert Knapp, handled media advertising for Bloomberg’s mayoral campaigns.
The firm issued a statement to The Post saying the firm is sticking with Biden — and indicated Knapp would have to leave from the firm to work for Bloomberg.
“SKDK, under the leadership of Anita Dunn, is and will continue to work for Joe Biden’s campaign. Bill Knapp, who has advised the Mayor for years, will do any campaign work outside of his role at the firm,” a spokesperson said.