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Mike Bloomberg’s rough first debate outing came just as Pa. Democrats were giving him a close look

Rivals like Elizabeth Warren lashed out at Bloomberg over his record on race relations, his treatment of women at his eponymous company, and a host of other issues.

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg during a Democratic debate in Las Vegas on Feb. 19, 2020.
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg during a Democratic debate in Las Vegas on Feb. 19, 2020.Read moreJohn Locher / AP
    by Andrew Seidman
    Updated 
    Published 

The reviews are in, and the conventional wisdom is that Mike Bloomberg bombed in his debut debate performance Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

Rivals like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden lashed out at Bloomberg over his record on race relations, his treatment of women at his eponymous company, and a host of other issues.

They hoped to pierce the rosy image Bloomberg has sold to millions of Americans through his ubiquitous television ads.

Earlier this week, we wrote that Democrats in the Philadelphia suburbs — a key voting bloc in a critical battleground state — are giving Bloomberg a serious look as they weigh which candidate has the best chance of defeating President Donald Trump.

We spoke with a few of those voters again Thursday morning to get their take on the debate.

Marsha Peltz, vice chair of the Chester County Democratic Committee and a Bloomberg delegate

Here’s what we wrote:

Two days before Sanders won the New Hampshire primary, Marsha Peltz, vice chair of the Chester County Democrats, hosted about 25 people from across the region at her Malvern home for an informational session about Bloomberg. Among those who showed up were three self-identified Republicans, said Peltz, who is running to become a Bloomberg delegate at the Democratic convention.
“I see on the grassroots level how he’s uniting those Republicans that are looking for some place to go,” she said.

Peltz said Thursday that her takeaway from the debate was that Bloomberg was “the new person, so he’s the natural one to be attacked.”

“He survived and it’ll be a new debate in a few days,” she said.

“Some of these folks have had experience in the last couple of weeks and months doing this," Peltz said. "As someone said, he had to get his sea legs in the debates.”

“I was not disappointed," Peltz said. "I expected the attacks, starting with the very first line from Elizabeth Warren. I just went, ‘Wow.’”

She added: "I did not like the viciousness of the attacks on each other. I feel like our focus should have been on Donald Trump and the Republicans and not infighting among ourselves.

Helen Springer, 75, of Kennett Square

Here’s what we wrote:

“We Democrats have to be absolutely pragmatic. We have to be cold-eyed,” said Springer, who described her politics as “way way way way to the left.”
“We have to look at the situation we’re in and get behind somebody who can stand toe to toe with Trump,” said Springer who, like others interviewed for this article spoke last week. “It’s very uncertain right now. It’s really scary, and we’ve gotta have somebody who can take it all the way with Trump. Bloomberg, I think, can.”

On Thursday, Springer said she didn’t watch the debate, though she had read about it. “At this stage of the game at any point [the debates] are much more reality TV show than they are a serious discussion of policy,” she said. “At this stage it turns into circular firing squad. I just avoid it.”

Springer added: “What matters is the swing states... and whether or not the Trump supporters come out in those states and vote en mass, and the Democrats stay home, or whether we can put something forward that is going to appeal to that big middle swath of voters in the country. And if we can’t do that, we’re not going to win.”

Jill Zipin, chair of the political action committee Democratic Jewish Outreach PA

Here’s what we wrote:

Bloomberg’s best bet may be winning over Democrats discouraged by Biden’s shaky campaign.
“I’ve heard concern about Biden for months,” said Jill Zipin, a self-described moderate Democrat who is active in Montgomery County politics. Friends tell her of the 77-year-old Biden: “He seems older, more frail. He’s not the Biden of 10 years ago.” Bloomberg is 78.

On Thursday, Zipin said she’s still undecided on a candidate: “I’m very concerned there’s not a candidate that can defeat Donald Trump.”

“I didn’t see any winner in the debate,” she said. "They were all going after each other, instead of going after Donald Trump, and talking about the pardons and impeachment and you now, the 9,000 other parade of horribles that Trump has done.

“I think they all, in my opinion, look small and petty," Zipin said. “That was my take. I did not watch fully, to be honest. I just couldn’t.”

She added: “Bloomberg didn’t perform well in the debate. Neither did Amy [Klobuchar] or Pete [Buttigieg]. Warren looked like she did OK, but she was also attacking. Biden held his own, from my perspective, and Bernie held his own.”

Read our full story on support for Bloomberg in the Philly suburbs.