With less than three months to go before the Iowa caucus kicks off the 2020 race, the field may be getting some new competition. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is said to be preparing to enter the race, which would make him the 18th Democratic candidate.
But some of the remaining contenders may think an expanding field of candidates is a move in the wrong direction. Cory Booker’s press secretary, Sabrina Singh, told Cheddar on Friday, “I don’t know that the campaign needs another Democrat in the race.”
But another Democrat it may have, and a very wealthy one. Bloomberg, worth about $52.4 billion, according to a Forbes estimate, could be a major threat to former Vice President Joe Biden.
Singh said, “We really need someone out there that can unite the country, that can build a multiracial coalition.” Some, including Singh, question if Bloomberg is the man for that job.
Bloomberg had toyed with the idea of a 2020 run earlier this year but seemed to bow out due to Biden’s strength. As Biden falters, Bloomberg may see a chance.
Singh said the Booker campaign is mainly focused more on running a successful campaign, whether or not another contender enters the mix.
”What Cory [Booker] brings to the stage is very different than what Bloomberg brings,” said Singh. Booker “is the only candidate in this race that still lives in a low-income community: Newark” she added.
“We’re not going to mold our message to Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren,” she said. “We’re going to keep running a race that we believe, that we are very confident in and see our way through Iowa and beyond.”
A growing number of businesses are requiring their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, alarmed by the rise of the more contagious delta variant and frustrated that vaccination rates in the U.S. have plateaued.
A California law taking effect Jan. 1 could make pork harder to find and more expensive.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is looking to speed up consideration of a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.
Jill and Carlo talk about the latest from Tokyo including Simone Biles plans to compete in the balance beam final, Dr. Fauci's dire Delta warning, high profile vaccine mandates from employers like Walmart and Disney, and Square's acquisition of Afterpay.
A shortage of ammunition in the U.S. is having an impact on law enforcement agencies, people seeking personal protection, recreational shooters and hunters.
Scientists who studied a big COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
The Biden administration has announced sweeping new pandemic rules for federal workers and some contractors.
U.S. regulators have taken action that will make it easier to get a cheaper and similar version of a brand-name insulin at the drugstore.
A new interactive tracker from the Atlantic Council shows that 81 countries are at some stage of development with a central bank digital currency, but the U.S. is notably absent from its list of frontrunners.
Fueled by vaccinations and government aid, the U.S. economy grew at a solid 6.5% annual rate last quarter in the clearest sign to date that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession.
