|
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8-- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday took a step toward a presidential run as a Democratic candidate, making some wonder whether the timing is too late for launching a successful campaign. Bloomberg on Friday filed to run in the U.S. state of Alabama's Democratic presidential primary in 2020. The former New York mayor's representatives submitted paperwork with the Alabama Democratic Party to place his name on the ballot for the March 3 Super Tuesday contest, although he did not officially announce his candidacy. The billionaire filed in Alabama because of that state's early filing deadline, which was Friday, media outlets reported. "It's tough to see much of a path forward for Bloomberg. The other candidates have been running for months or years and are generally known to activists and voters at this point," Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua. "There are plenty of candidates with solid credentials stuck in the single digits. I just don't see a Mike Bloomberg-shaped hole in the race that's been patiently waiting for him," Galdieri said. When asked whether Bloomberg might be a Democratic alternative to U.S. President Donald Trump, Galdieri said it's likely too late for such a figure to enter the fray. "If he'd been running since February that might have become something that helped define his campaign. But at this point I don't think it gets him very far," Galdieri said. | 
