Campaign

Bloomberg on contested convention: ‘I don’t think that I can win any other way’

by Marty Johnson - 03/03/20 1:59 PM ET

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Super Tuesday that his only way to win the Democratic presidential nomination would be through a contested convention.

The 78-year-old candidate told reporters in his Miami field office that he didn’t know if he was going to win any of the 14 states and one territory that are voting on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

“You don’t have to win states, you have to win delegates,” Bloomberg, who is appearing on primary ballots for the first time Tuesday, added.

When pushed on whether he wanted a contested convention in July, Bloomberg replied: “I don’t think that I can win any other way.”

The billionaire’s strategy, which has included massive ad buys in Super Tuesday states, hinges on finding success in those contests.

A contested convention happens when a candidate has a plurality of pledged delegates, but not a majority — at least 1,991 pledged delegates.

Since the Democratic primary field is now down to four main candidates — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bloomberg — the path to 1,991 has become somewhat more clear.

Previously, superdelegates — senior or former Democratic leaders, including former presidents and lawmakers — were able to vote on the first ballot at the convention, allowing candidates who had a plurality of delegates to capture the nomination on the first ballot. Superdelegates are now ineligible to vote until the second ballot.

Without a majority of delegates, the convention would become brokered and move to a second ballot. The last brokered convention for both parties was in 1952, when Adlai Stevenson received the Democratic nomination and Dwight Eisenhower the Republican nomination.