Even before billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg got into the Nevada debate and started rising in national polls, Georgia’s Democratic Party has been split over his efforts to buy support, conduct a huge media ad buy and seek Peach State endorsements. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, for example, that 2018 defeated gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams– who appeared with Bloomberg after he wrote a $5 million check for her Fair Fight Action group— is now publicly distancing from him after being attacked by supporters of candidate Bernie Sanders.
Abrams, Georgia’s most high-profile Democrat, also got in trouble with Sanders after her political director tweeted that Bloomberg is somehow a ” true terrorist,” a tweet which was soon deleted.
And the Georgia GOP is gloating. “Bloomberg faces growing concerns over his history of sexism, racist comments and controversial record as New York City mayor, but the backlash Abrams faced for her ties to Bloomberg show just how divided Georgia Democrats — even from her organization’s ranks— are on his spending in the state,” muses state Republican Party Executive Director Stewart Bragg.
Other Democrats running statewide are in a bind on whether to support Bloomberg or candidate Joe Biden (with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms being a high-profile supporter) or Sanders. No doubt reporters (and voters) will be asking Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff, Teresa Tomlinson, Sarah Riggs Amico, Raphael Warnock, Ed Tarver and Matt Lieberman who they support and if they would be comfortable with a self-proclaimed socialist like Sanders as their party’s nominee.
