Bloomberg rising in polls, hiring staff army as campaign plows millions into unprecedented ad blitz

Mike Bloomberg’s quickly making up for lost time.

Six weeks after he announced his candidacy for president, the former New York City mayor and multibillionaire business and media mogul has assembled a campaign juggernaut that now numbers 800 staffers.

Bloomberg’s also spent an eye-watering $166 million to run TV commercials on behalf of his 2020 White House bid – according to the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics. That includes $36 million just to air ads the first week of the new year.

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And he’s seen his national poll numbers edge up since jumping in. The candidate stands at 5.6 percent support in the latest RealClearPolitics average of the most recent public opinion surveys – up from 4 percent a month ago. This puts him in fifth position, just behind the top tier of Democratic nomination candidates.

Add to all that a new endorsement Monday by a media personality most Americans recognize – Judge Judy.

Bloomberg’s team confirmed to Fox News that they now have 300 staffers at the national campaign headquarters in New York City, as well as 500 in 30 states across the country – including 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday. The March 3 contests mark the largest single day of voting this primary cycle and are key to Bloomberg's strategy as he largely bypasses the first four states on the calendar.

The state with the most staffers is North Carolina – the only Super Tuesday state that’s also a crucial general election battleground.

"In six short weeks, Mike’s campaign now has 500 staff on the ground in every Super Tuesday and even some territories, like the Virgin Islands,” Bloomberg campaign states director Dan Kanninen told Fox News. “Our campaign is building the most robust national organization and infrastructure to beat Donald Trump, where we will compete everywhere and take our case directly to voters across the country with person-to-person conversations."

Bloomberg initially flirted with a White House run early last year. But in March, with former Vice President Joe Biden gearing up for a presidential bid, Bloomberg decided against launching a campaign because he felt he and the former vice president would split the center-left Democratic vote.

But in late November -- with Biden battling other top-tier contenders Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as well as then-South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- Bloomberg jumped into the race. He said that he was concerned none of the current candidates could defeat President Trump in next year's election.

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Due to his late entry into the 2020 race, Bloomberg’s skipping the early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina and instead is concentrating on the delegate-rich states that hold contests on Super Tuesday and beyond.

That’s a risky strategy that has never worked before. It means Bloomberg will have no momentum coming out of the four early voting states, which hold their contests in February. But Bloomberg’s massive campaign cash advantage could make him competitive – especially if none of his 2020 rivals come out of the February contests on a roll.

Bloomberg’s latest TV commercial – which starts running Monday – features an endorsement from Judy Sheindlin, whose popular TV program ‘Judge Judy’ is celebrating 24 years on air this year.

“I like to say you can judge someone’s character by what they’ve done. Mike Bloomberg has done amazing things and will be a truly great president,” Sheindlin states in the spot. “No one comes close to Mike Bloomberg’s executive achievement, government experience and impactful philanthropy.”

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