Michael Bloomberg to hold
New York fundraiser for
Phil Bredesen
by Joey Garrison, Nashville Tennessean Published 4:32 p.m. CT Oct. 3, 2018 | Updated 5:31 p.m. CT Oct. 3, 2018
Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to host a fundraiser for Tennessee Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen in New York next week, providing a new line of attack for Republican opponent Marsha Blackburn.
The Oct. 9 fundraiser, first reported by CNBC, will cost individuals $5,000 to attend at a "champion" level, $2,700 at a "friend" level, and $1,000 to come as a "supporter," according to an invitation obtained by The Tennessean.
The exact location is not disclosed on the invitation. Bredesen, former governor of Tennessee, is expected to make an appearance.
The event, just one month before the Nov. 6 election, comes as The Washington Post reported Bloomberg, a media executive, plans to donate $20 million to Senate Majority PAC, the main super PAC led by Senate Democrats.
That's on top of $80 million he's pledged to spend on congressional candidates during the 2018 election cycle.
An outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, Bloomberg — who started his stint as mayor as a Republican but ended as an independent — is now most aligned with Democrats. He's known for his progressive views on abortion, the environment and, perhaps most notably, gun control.
As Bredesen runs as an independent-minded Democrat, the Blackburn campaign has sought relentlessly to tie Bredesen to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Not surprisingly, her campaign used news of the Bloomberg fundraiser to advance that theme and paint Bredesen as a threat to gun ownership rights.
“Phil Bredesen is bought and paid for by Chuck Schumer and Mike Bloomberg," Blackburn campaign spokeswoman Abbi Sigler said in a statement, adding Bloomberg's name to a line Blackburn cited repeatedly during the first of two televised debates with Bredesen.
"Now he is returning to his home state to fundraise with another anti-gun, pro-tax and spend it all billionaire. The similarities are striking, and this fundraiser is another clear indication that Phil Bredesen will not stand up for Tennesseans’ Second Amendment rights."
Bloomberg is actively weighing a 2020 run for president as a Democrat.
His involvement in Tennessee's U.S. Senate race follows increased activity from outside groups. The race is regarded as a crucial one nationally that could, along with a handful of other states', help decide whether Democrats gain control of the Senate, which Republicans currently control by a 51-49 majority.
In addition to the Senate Majority PAC, Majority Forward, a Democratic-aligned group, has run ads attacking Blackburn and in support of Bredesen.
Blackburn, meanwhile, has gotten a boost from advertising paid for by the Senate Leadership Fund, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Americans for Prosperity, funded by the conservative Koch network.
Trump held a campaign rally Monday night for Blackburn in Johnson City where couples paid $25,000 for a photo and roundtable talk with the president and $10,000 for just a photo.
The Bredesen campaign chose to attack Blackburn rather than directly address the Bloomberg fundraiser in a statement.
“Between the Koch Brothers, Mitch McConnell’s PAC, the NRSC, and the other out of state dark money groups, plus the Blackburn campaign itself, Congresswoman Blackburn is taking the D.C. Diane playbook to new depths and being propped up by an unprecedented wave of negative attack ads in Tennessee," Bredesen campaign spokeswoman Alyssa Hansen said.
She went on to slam financial contributions Blackburn has taken from drug companies and her helping pass a law in 2016 that some say hurt the Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to fight the opioid crisis.
"This is the kind of muck that Tennesseans hate from Washington politicians like Congresswoman Blackburn and why 16 years in DC is long enough. It's time for fresh air and Governor Bredesen is applying for the job."
tennessean.com/story/news/politics/tn-elections/2018/10/03/michael-bloomberg-hold-new-york-fundraiser-tennessee-us-senate-candidate-phil-bredesen/1513260002/
