Bloomberg responds to Iowa chaos with more money

Michael Bloomberg.
(Image credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Michael Bloomberg is completely unbothered by whatever is going down in Iowa.

The former New York City mayor and billionaire presidential candidate didn't compete in Monday night's Iowa caucus, but it still seems he's more confident than ever. Bloomberg has authorized his advisers to double his already massive spending on TV advertising, and is looking to hire even more staffers as well, The Washington Post reports.

Candidates usually use the Iowa caucuses — the first of the year — to gain headlines and set their trajectory for the rest of the race. But that hope went bust as a results announcement dragged into Tuesday afternoon.

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For Bloomberg, though, "this is the best-case scenario," his senior adviser Howard Wolfson told the Post. "After a year of running, the field is as unsettled as ever" and there's still time for Bloomberg to rise to the top, Wolfson continued. That's seemingly why Bloomberg is pouring even more money on top of the $300 million he's already spent on TV ads so far in the race.

Bloomberg entered the presidential race months after his top rivals, and opted to forgo the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries in favor of focusing on later contests. In fact, as he told a group in Detroit on Tuesday, he fell asleep on a plane while the contest was going on Monday and had to ask an adviser what happened. Read more at The Washington Post.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.