Presidential hopeful Bloomberg to visit Little Rock Monday

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg speaks during a rally Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Salt Lake City.
 (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg speaks during a rally Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Michael Bloomberg, media titan and Democratic presidential candidate, will visit Little Rock on Monday to participate in the city's annual Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday march, his campaign announced this weekend.

Bloomberg, a billionaire who was elected to three terms as New York City mayor, serving from 2002-13, is visiting Arkansas for the first time since officially starting his campaign Nov. 24.

Bloomberg's strategy is to make a strong showing on Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the primary season. Arkansas is among 14 states holding their party primary elections on Super Tuesday, which is March 3.

During his visit Monday, Bloomberg plans to march in the city's 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Marade and participate in the seventh annual Homeless Backpack Community Service Project. As part of the project, backpacks are donated and filled with food and winter-weather clothing to be distributed to homeless people.

Monday's march will begin at 10 a.m. on 33rd Street and end at the state Capitol. The backpack event will begin about 11:15 a.m. at the Scholarmade Achievement Place of Arkansas, 2410 S. Battery St.

Bloomberg, 77, last visited Little Rock on Nov. 12 to fill out paperwork at the state Capitol so his name could appear on the ballot, but he told reporters then that he still had not made up his mind on whether to run for the presidency.

Bloomberg bills himself as a uniter, job creator and philanthropist. He is making a concerted effort to attract voters in Arkansas ahead of Super Tuesday, said Cal Harris, a regional communications director for the Bloomberg campaign.

"At the end of the day, Mike is a proven leader with an unbeatable track record of creating jobs and implementing effective policies," Harris said. "He is the Democrat in the best position to bring people together and beat [President Donald] Trump."

While he hasn't stood on the debate stage with fellow Democratic candidates or established a significant ground game in Iowa ahead of that state's caucuses, his campaign has begun airing television commercials and has a commercial designated to air during the Super Bowl football game Feb. 2.

Bloomberg, who ran as a Republican for two of his three races for New York mayor, had contemplated presidential runs in 2008 and 2012 before ultimately deciding against them.

He told reporters last February that he had no intention of running in 2020. He changed his mind in November and declared his candidacy during a campaign event in Virginia.

Metro on 01/19/2020

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