Bloomberg publicly wishes for contested convention: 'I don't think I can win any other way'

Michael Bloomberg doesn't exactly seem confident about his first chance at nabbing Democratic delegates.

The former New York City mayor and 2020 Democrat will see his first primary contest Tuesday as 14 states go to the polls, and in a press conference as Super Tuesday voting went on, was asked whether he was already thinking of dropping out. "We're in it to win it," Bloomberg said — especially if that mentality lands him in a contest convention.

After two moderate candidates dropped out of the race and then endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday, CBS News' Tim Perry asked Bloomberg if he felt he was "taking votes away from Joe Biden" by remaining in the race. "Well, it goes in both directions," Bloomberg answered, and rebuffed the question by asking "have you asked Joe whether he's going to drop out?"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Bloomberg was also asked what his expectations were for Tuesday night's results, to which he said "I don't know if we're going to win any" states outright. He then said welcomed a contested Democratic convention where no candidate had won a majority of delegates. "Well, I don't think I can win any other way," Bloomberg said, openly welcoming the chaos that would come with an undecided nomination process.