Feb 22, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Mike Bloomberg warns Democrats of midterm "wipeout"

Axios

Michael Bloomberg in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. Photo: Alastair Grant, Pool/Getty Images

Michael Bloomberg, former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate, had an apocalyptic warning for his party Monday: Absent "an immediate course correction, the party is headed for a wipeout in November, up and down the ballot."

Why it matters: Bloomberg, in an editorial for Bloomberg Opinion, cites Democratic research that "voters perceive the party as being too 'focused on the culture wars' — from renaming schools to defunding the police."

What they're saying: "But the advice that party leaders are giving members of Congress — to 'correct the record' when Republicans criticize them on schools and culture — isn't going to cut it," Bloomberg wrote.

"Voters need to hear from Democrats that schools remained closed for too long, and that improving schools means closing achievement gaps, not eliminating standards."

The big picture: Pointing to last week's school-board recall in San Francisco, Bloomberg concluded, "The earthquake that shook San Francisco needs to shake up our party, before voters do it themselves in November."

Go deeper: Democrats' dwindling 2022 map

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Mike Bloomberg warns Democrats of midterm "wipeout"

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