Bloomberg now endorsed by more than 100 mayors, including a former Biden supporter
Don Hardy said he initially supported Biden but likes what Bloomberg has to say.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has now gained the backing of more than 100 mayors, according to his campaign.
And one of the new names on the growing list of Bloomberg supporters is a familiar one to voters this cycle: He's a former Joe Biden supporter who has flipped over to supporting Bloomberg.
“I scanned the field and originally thought that Joe Biden was the candidate who most closely represented my beliefs," said Kinston, North Carolina, Mayor Don Hardy. "But after hearing what Mike Bloomberg has to say -- on gun safety, economic justice, equity, the environment, health care, the planet -- I changed my mind."
Mount Rainier, Maryland, Mayor Malinda Miles and Birmingham, Alabama, Mayor William Bell are the two other mayors that bring Bloomberg's mayoral endorsements to 111, according to the campaign.
Other high-profile mayoral names include Stockton, California, Mayor Michael Tubbs, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
The Miles, Bell and Hardy endorsements came on Thursday, hours after Bloomberg announced his Mike for Black America initiative, a program to help engage the black community on key issues. Recent polling shows Bloomberg inching close to Biden in popularity among the African American community.
In a statement, Bloomberg, a former three-term mayor, said, "Their endorsements show the hunger local leaders have for real leadership in the White House -- and that starts with defeating this president."