His presidential campaign may be over, but that does not mean that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is planning on sitting on the sidelines for the rest of the election season.
The Collective PAC, which describes itself as “the nation’s fastest-growing black-led political action committee,” announced on Monday that Bloomberg had donated $2 million to its non-profit Collective Future to help increase voter turnout among black Americans.
Its press release reads:
“The Collective is proud to announce that Mike Bloomberg has donated two million dollars to help fund the organization’s 501c4 arm Collective Future and their new voter registration initiative targeted towards Black voters in eight crucial states across the country.”
The organization said it would spend the money in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin to register 500,000 black Americans to vote in states that have typically gone for the Republican candidate in presidential elections.
“There is a critical need for Black voter engagement across the country in the 2020 election and beyond, and we are deeply grateful to Mike Bloomberg for his partnership and dedication to this critical cause,” said Quentin James, the president of The Collective.
President Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 was credited in part to low turn out among black voters. Now, they are a major target for groups seeking to oust Trump.
One of the nation’s largest unions, the Service Employees International Union, announced recently that it would spend $150 million in 40 states to help defeat Trump. It said it also said it plans to work to increase turn out among black voters.
Also recognizing the crucial role the black American community could play in the upcoming election, the Trump campaign has been aggressively trying to win over black voters.