SACRAMENTO, California — Former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg appears to be keeping his word: Even though he won't be the Democratic nominee, he's not finished trying to defeat President Donald Trump.
The billionaire and former New York City mayor is funding an anti-Trump operation in six battleground states in an effort to oust the Republican president in November.
Bloomberg will tap his vast fortune to pay for field offices in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In the 2016 election, Trump won those states over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by a combined 489,317 votes out of more than 28.6 million cast -- about 1.7%. Had Clinton won those, she would have won the Electoral College vote and the presidency, 333 to 205. But Trump won 306 to 232.
How much can Bloomberg afford to spend on this? For perspective, the entire 2016 presidential election -- primaries and general -- cost $2.4 billion, according to OpenSecrets.org. Bloomberg is worth $61.9 billion, according to Forbes.
He cannot coordinate with any campaign, so Bloomberg will do this through an independent expenditure committee. Bloomberg has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, one of the two remaining front-runners for the nomination.
Aides to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders say the campaign, which has been funded primarily by small-dollar, individual donations, wouldn't want Bloomberg's help. Bloomberg said in response that he might not help Sanders.
Bloomberg suspended his campaign Wednesday after performing poorly on Super Tuesday -- the only day he was on the ballot. He spent a reported $500 million on his campaign since joining the race last November.