On Wednesday, billionaire and former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg filed paperwork for the Texas Democratic presidential primary, according to the Texas Tribune.
The former mayor has not officially announced his presidential bid yet, but he has mailed his ballot application to the Texas Democratic Party and paid the $2,500 filing fee. Texas is the third state that Bloomberg has filed for a presidential bid, including Alabama and Arkansas.
Bloomberg had previously said that he would not run back in March. However, in early November reports emerged that he was seriously reconsidering a bid for the presidency. A longtime advisor said that Bloomberg “is increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned” to defeat Donald Trump.
His bold campaign strategy includes skipping Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina altogether and instead focus on Super Tuesday states, like delegate-rich Texas, on March 3. 228 Texas delegates will go to 2020 Democratic Convention to select the party’s nominee for president.
Bloomberg is the fourth Democratic candidate to file in the Texas primary after Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The only Texan in the race, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, has not yet filed. The deadline to file in the state’s primary is December 9.
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