Mike Bloomberg Building ‘Parallel, Unofficial Party Structure’

Axios took a deep dive into how billionaire Mike Bloomberg is putting his money where his mouth is in terms of building a huge campaign operation as he runs for the Democratic nomination for president.

The big picture: Bloomberg’s campaign has repeatedly said it will spend “whatever it takes” to defeat President Trump. There’s nothing stopping Bloomberg from topping $2 billion.

• • With 2,100 paid staff, Bloomberg has three times as many as Trump, five times as many as Joe Biden and more than twice as many as Elizabeth Warren, according to data the campaigns provided to Axios.
  • He pays his staff more than any other 2020 Democrat’s campaign and offers housing if they have to move to New York City, according to a campaign official.

By the numbers: In just over a month, Bloomberg spent more than the top 2020 contenders spent for the whole final quarter of 2019 combined, according to Federal Election Commission data. He also outspent the entire RNC and DNC.