Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent millions dollars from his personal fortune on Tuesdays election, backing candidates through personal donations and his Independence USA political action committee.
How’d he do? About 50/50. Here’s a rundown.
via Wins and Losses for Bloomberg Candidates and Causes on Tuesday – NY Daily News.
Pure numbers he ran 50/50 indeed. Second Amendment issues, lost. and bad. Udall & Hagan were supposed to be easy things. Nunn was expected to be tight but it ended up being a massacre. Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy was another one supposed to win easy but didn’t and eeked out a 2% advantage. Colorado’s Hickenlooper will go to recount since he is under the 0.5%.
And this one is golden:
Senate Majority PAC: Loss.Bloomberg gave $2.5 million Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC run by former staffers to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The group works to help Democrats keep their Senate majority. They lost their majority.
He had two solid wins in initiatives:
Supported Washington State’s Measure 594 for statewide background checks on the sales of guns: Win. The ballot initiative passed.Supported Berkeley, Ca. Soda Tax initiative: Win. He couldn’t ban Big Gulps in New York, but a Bloomberg backed tax on sugary soda passed in liberal Berkley, Calif
And this one…well, I guess they were having one too many appletinis at Everytown?
Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Everytown for Gun Safety, ignoring losses by Hagan and Udall, also claimed a partial victory in the defeat of Democratic Sen. Mark Pyror (D-Ark.) , who drew attacks from the group last year for opposing the Senate background check bill.
“Senator Pryor has learned the hard way that courting the gun lobby doesn’t always buy its support,” the group said. “Even though Senator Pryor voted in lockstep with the NRA to oppose background checks, they spent more than $2.9 million this cycle to oppose his re-election.
Mark Pryor was beaten by Republican Tom Cotton who has a A Rating by the NRA-PVF. So basically they traded one pro-gun for another pro gun and helped move the Senate into Republican hands. Good job!
In my opinion, Bloomberg did not get a decent return for his money. He has plenty though and he can spend as he sees fit so it is not wise to dismiss him.
We’ll just out-vote him.
The I-594 hurts though. I’ve got family up there.
No denial, that is a boatload of crap.
As of this morning, Hickenlooper is 1.2% ahead of Beauprez, but scratchpad math suggests there are still enough uncounted votes to swing it 6% either way.(and I can’t find historical data to see what those districts are likely to do!)
I’m happy to have a senator contributing to the good of the country, but we in Colorado really need that commie out so we can start rebuilding our state locally. I hope Beauprez wins, but if he doesn’t I hope he’ll sit out of all future gubernatorial races.
No denying its a boatload of crap and its really going to suck living here in Washington. If you look at the state map, the 10 or so counties with the highest population density out voted the rest of the state… the area around puget sound has always controlled the state. : /
Since most of the LEO in the state was against 594, Im hoping that it wont be enforced fervently esp. the range part. My whole family will be felons everytime we go shooting…
Molon Labe
Indeed. The folks up there are so boned by Seattle. I used to want to live on the Pacific side of the OP, not so much now.
Here in Oregon, he at least supported one local state senator who looks like will very narrowly loose. he also spent big buck (1.25mil) supporting a top-two open primary ballot, which also lost.
Bloomberg supported Measure 90? I was wondering about that. It was far too top-down organized and well-funded to be a normal grassroots campaign.
It’d have been a big win for him; Oregon’s blue enough in some areas that your ballot choices would be a Democrat who is anti-gun, or a Democrat who is anti-business AND anti-gun. IOW, a big win for Bloomberg one way, a big loss for Bloomberg’s opponents the other.
So, who’s up for a ballot initiative to limit (say, to 5 figures) how much money out-of-state individuals can provide to local elections?
A limit on out of state funding would be nice and probably would’ve cut down on the amount of WAGR pamphlets to vote yes on bullshite and the astounding difference between pro bullshite and pro gun groups.
[…] Where Bloomberg’s money went. […]
From the text of I-594, section on exemptions:
(ii) if the temporary transfer occurs, and the firearm is kept at all times, at an established shooting range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which such range is located;
So nobody is getting arrested for loaning a gun to a friend at the range.
I found the text and unless I am reading it wrong, outside the range, I cannot lend you a gun unless you are close family.
http://sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/initiatives/FinalText_483.pdf
It does imply that people only shoot at “an established shooting range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which such range is located;” doesn’t it?
There is also an exemption for hunting. But if you are out plinking in the woods, who’s going to know? You are more likely to be watched by a LEO at a range.
Any firearm which is not permanently stored at that range is a possible subject for a transfer violation. “and the firearm is kept at all times,” There’s a reason all those extra words in there.
This in no way means I support any part of this legislation.
[…] let’s talk about the private actors. Bloomberg is going to steam on, but this wasn’t his only fight he was throwing money at. He’s LOADED, but all you need to do is look at amazingly wealthy celebrities who have […]