With the United States midterm elections about two weeks away, billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has given Democrats a major financial boost. According to a report by The New York Times, which cited his team, he sent roughly $80 million to the party’s causes across September and October, all aimed at helping Democrats take control of the House of Representatives.
The money is not going to one place. At least $50 million is earmarked for House races. About $24 million went to Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control group Bloomberg co-founded, and about $16 million went to House Majority PAC, the super PAC aligned with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. His adviser, Howard Wolfson, said another $10 million or so is expected to follow before Election Day.
The size of the gift puts Bloomberg among the biggest individual Democratic donors of this cycle. A CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission filings placed him in the top five for 2025 to 2026. Before this announcement, public records showed he had given about $23 million to Democrats and affiliated causes this cycle, so the new figure is a sharp jump.
The timing matters as much as the amount. Bloomberg has a record of arriving late and spending big. In 2018 he pledged $80 million to help Democrats win back the House, and reports say his eventual spending went well past that. Jeffries pointed to that history in welcoming the latest donation, saying it would once again help Democrats flip the chamber. Reports also note that Republicans still hold a significant fundraising advantage, which makes late money like this more consequential.
One caution applies. The $80 million figure comes from Bloomberg’s own team, which shared it with the Times. It has not yet been confirmed through full public filings, so the exact breakdown of where every dollar went may shift as disclosures catch up.
For readers in Nigeria and across Africa, the story is a reminder of how heavily money shapes American elections, and how a single donor’s late decision can change the financial balance of a national race. The midterms on November 3 will decide control of Congress for the final two years of the current presidential term, and what happens there will affect US policy at home and abroad.
