Bloomberg Qualifies for Debate After Hiring Top Hillary Aide

The race for the 2020 Democratic nomination is essentially down to two options:  Bernie Sanders or anyone else, please.

The Democratic Party itself appears to loathe Sanders, having already colluded with Hillary Clinton in 2016 in order to cheat him out of the presidential nomination.  This enraged his large and vocal supporter base, who are extremely nervous about a repeat performance in 2020.

Suddenly rising to meet Bernie atop the national polling is former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose moderate chops received a boost just days ago when his campaign announced the hiring of one of Hillary Clinton’s top formers aides.  That news came just hours after it was reported that Mr. Mayor was considering the former First Lady herself as a possible VP pick.

Now, in a move that likely has Sanders’ supporters’ ears perking up, Bloomberg will be on the debate stage in Nevada; his first such national appearance since his late entry into the race.

Sanders has 31% support nationally, up 9 points since December, the last time the poll asked about Democratic voters’ preferences.

His next closest contender has 19%. But that second-place rival is former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. With this poll, Bloomberg has qualified for the Nevada debate, despite not being on the ballot there for Saturday’s caucuses.

Many Americans have become familiar with Bloomberg lately in this race because of his ubiquitous TV ads. But now get ready to see him on the debate stage for the first time Wednesday.

Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey called the new poll result the latest evidence of a “groundswell” for the candidate.

Bloomberg has certainly been behooved by the sudden drop-off of former Vice President Joe Biden in the polls, possibly due to continued concerns about his role in Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine.