Associated Press: Years of largesse give Bloomberg his own political machine

Mike Bloomberg’s long history of philanthropic and political spending has given him a sprawling network of supporters that is paying off as he runs for president.

An Associated Press review of Bloomberg’s giving shows that, for years, people have relied on his money to win elections, change laws, fund research and pay for signature municipal and education programs.

Many of those beneficiaries and their associates are endorsing, or are open to, Bloomberg’s campaign, giving the former Republican a base of Democratic Party support that he might lack if he weren’t one of the world’s richest men. …

“He had the wealth to give away money for years to build friends, to build political allies, to build relationships, in ways that the average American doesn’t have, can’t do. That’s a huge advantage,” said Paul S. Ryan, a vice president at Common Cause, a government watchdog group.