Sanders adviser: Bloomberg ‘may have all the money, but we definitely have all the people’

A senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign said Thursday that the Vermont independent’s supporters are a more powerful asset than the money being spent by billionaire candidate Michael Bloomberg.

Chuck Rocha touted Sanders’s grassroots support during a Hill.TV interview, arguing that the former New York City mayor “may have all the money,” but Sanders has “all the people” behind his campaign.

“That’s always been the key to our success: our grassroots momentum and the grassroots support,” Rocha said, adding that Bloomberg “may have all the money but we definitely have all the people.”

According to a RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Sanders trails former Vice President Joe Biden by 5 percentage points, registering 21.8 percent support.

Sanders is in a virtual tie with former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the Iowa caucuses. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Buttigieg has 26.2 percent of state delegate equivalents and Sanders has 26.1 percent.

Rocha’s comments come as Bloomberg has seen a rise in national polls to third place alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). A Hill-HarrisX poll released last month found Bloomberg and Warren tied with 11 percent support, while a Morning Consult survey published Monday found the two White House hopefuls registering 14 percent each.

Compared to his rivals, Bloomberg has taken an unconventional approach to seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. As most of his fellow contenders turn their attention to New Hampshire, Bloomberg has decided to bypass the first four voting states and instead focus on states that vote later in the process.

Bloomberg is ramping up his ground game in Super Tuesday states, which are slated to hold their primaries on March 3. He announced that his campaign has more than 2,000 staffers in those states.

He has also opted to self-fund his campaign, pouring millions of dollars into advertisements. Despite a late entry into the race, Bloomberg has already spent more than $100 million.

According to The Washington Post, Bloomberg plans to double his television spending in advertising markets across the country in an effort to boost his chances and take advantage of the disastrous outcome of the Iowa caucuses.

—Tess Bonn