MONEY TALKS

Bloomberg Makes It Into Next Democratic Debate After Surge in the Polls

The former New York City mayor has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on an unprecedented advertising campaign.

The hundreds of millions of dollars that Mike Bloomberg has spent on his campaign appear to have paid off after he officially qualified for his first appearance in a Democratic presidential primary debate. The former New York City mayor has surged in recent polls. The latest, from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist, showed him supported by 19 percent of respondents. That’s enough for him to pass the threshold to take the stage—candidates must have four national polls showing 10 percent or higher support to qualify, or 12 percent or more in two single-state polls of Nevada and South Carolina. He’ll join former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. The debate is being hosted by NBC News, MSNBC and the Nevada Independent, and will take place Wednesday evening.