Ciara Torres-Spelliscy talks Michael Bloomberg and self-financed presidential candidates

By HuffPost
HuffPost News
Dec. 9, 2019

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

Excerpt

Stetson University College of Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy said Michael Bloomberg won’t have to raise money for his presidential bid, unlike most other candidates.

“He is a true billionaire. He actually has the money if he wants to go, you know, if he wants to spend half a billion dollars on a presidential run, he probably has that funding, and he can spend as much as, you know, other candidates who have been successful in the past.”

She notes, however, that such spending offers no guarantees.

“Now, we don’t have a great record of electing self-financed candidates. So, for example, Forbes ran as a self-financed candidate, and did not become president. Ross Perot ran as a self-financed candidate, and did not become president. We’ve never had a self-financed president win the candidacy, unless you’re going way back to, like, Washington. There’s always a roll for big money in politics. Only time will tell which model the American public finds more attractive.”

The complete video was originally posted on the HuffPost website on Dec. 9, 2019, with the headline, “Michael Bloomberg Splashes The Cash For 2020.”