Bloomberg Gives $80m to Democrats as Trump Says $400m Is Going to Republicans

Billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg will spend $80m to help Democratic candidates in the US midterm congressional elections, American media reported on Tuesday. The sum is a significant boost for a party that has recently struggled with fundraising as it tries to win control of Congress.

On the same day, US President Donald Trump announced he intends to spend a total of $400m to aid Republican candidates, of which $300m has already been disbursed.

Where the money is going

According to The New York Times, Bloomberg made the contributions in September and October. He is focused in particular on Democrats trying to flip the House of Representatives, which Republicans control by a historically small margin. His political adviser, Howard Wolfson, told the paper the aim is a Democratic majority larger than the 218 seats needed to control the chamber. He said the difference between 221 and 230 seats really matters.

The donations include $24m to Everytown for Gun Safety, a group Bloomberg cofounded that spends on Democratic candidates for the House, and $16m to the House Majority PAC, which is linked to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. A further $2.5m went to a super PAC backing James Talarico, the Democratic candidate in Texas's US Senate race, as well as to a super PAC supporting the re-election of New York governor Kathy Hochul and the campaigns of several Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

Political background

Bloomberg, 84, served three terms as New York City mayor, from 2002 to 2013. He was then an independent but later registered as a Democrat. He spent $80m to help the party in the 2018 midterms, during Trump's first term, and in 2020 made a well-funded but unsuccessful bid for the party's presidential nomination.

Democrats believe they are favored to retake the House, though they acknowledge trailing Republicans in fundraising. Besides Trump's money, Republicans are being helped by the president's ally Elon Musk, who has so far spent $366m on conservative groups and campaigns. Democrats also think they have a chance of gaining the four seats needed to take the Senate, though analysts say it could go either way.

Control of either chamber would let Democrats block Trump's legislative agenda and investigate his administration more effectively. A Senate majority would also allow them to reject his nominees for the supreme court and other federal judgeships.

Asked how effective the money would be, Wolfson said Bloomberg believes resources matter in campaigns, and that he "expects a result".