Michael Bloomberg Qualifies For Las Vegas Democratic Debate

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has qualified for the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The self-made billionaire is currently polling at 19 percent nationwide, which far surpasses the 10 percent qualification threshold needed to participate. These numbers were recorded by the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College poll, which was released Tuesday morning.

Bloomberg has also ascended to double digits in three other national polls to meet the Democratic National Committees (DNC) requirement for participating in the Las Vegas event.

Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire who does not accept campaign contributions, can pour money into the election like no other candidate can. He has thrown millions of personal funds into television, radio and social media advertisements, to the degree where many are pointing the finger at him for trying to “buy the election.”

The DNC lifted restrictions on only allowing stage-time to those who demonstrated proof of grass-roots funding.

Five other candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg have also all qualified for the Las Vegas debate.

Bloomberg’s poll numbers have surged since December when he was only polling in at only 4 percent.

The new figures put him behind the Democratic frontrunner Sanders, who recently celebrated his  New Hampshire primary victory.

Article by Emily Bevacqua