MANCHESTER, N.H. – The New Hampshire Democratic Primary ended almost two weeks ago, but one more presidential campaign is making its way into the Granite State.
On Monday, the campaign of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened an office on Mammoth Road in what was the former campaign office of Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig last fall.
While it’s too late to have any impact for New Hampshire’s most notable role in the presidential nomination process, the Bloomberg campaign says they are looking further ahead.
According to Mike Bloomberg 2020 New Hampshire State Director Ryan Mahoney, the office will be used in a limited role to help in nearby Super Tuesday states such as Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine. However, he added that the primary role of the office is geared toward building a foundation toward what may become a swing state in November.
“We didn’t want to wait until July when the convention is happening, we want to build our organization now,” said Mahoney. “And it’s not just to help Mike Bloomberg, but it’s to help Democrats up and down the ticket. It’s to build that infrastructure that is sometimes lost between the New Hampshire Primary and when the nominee is chosen.”
Mahoney says that the lease for the office is set until November and that it will be available for whoever the Democratic nominee is, even if it is not Bloomberg, alongside other local Democratic nominees for other offices.
Not everyone in the crowd was a Bloomberg supporter. Brandon Stapleton noticed the Bloomberg bus on the way home from work and soon discovered the office.
Stapleton declined to say who he supported in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary, but respected Colorado Senator Michael Bennet.
Stapleton sees the office as presumptuous given that no candidate has yet secured the Democratic presidential nomination.
“Everything about Mike seems a little bit off, I guess it’s just part of his character,” said Stapleton. “I feel it’s just unfortunate that Mike is planning on running an independent campaign. That’s what I understand when I hear that Mike is running a general election-focused office because he has no path to the nomination.”
Stapleton questioned Mahoney and Bloomberg Climate Advisor Glenn Hooks how much they were being paid for their positions following recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Bloomberg, a question Mahoney and Hooks deflected while Jill Carney of Windham began a back-and-forth with Stapleton.
Carney voted for former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld in the New Hampshire Republican Primary earlier this month for the sole reason that she wanted to vote directly against Trump before November’s General Election.
She says she will vote for whoever the eventual Democratic nominee is, but thinks Bloomberg is the only one that can defeat Trump and came out on Monday to learn more about Bloomberg’s campaign.
“I think (Bloomberg) has the resources, the brains, the people around him. And ultimately a monkey would be better than what we’ve got,” “I think Bloomberg is the only one that can beat Trump. It’s just his money, it’s his brains.”
