NATIONAL BRIEFING
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has spent $64.8 million of his own money in his bid for a third term and, since midsummer, has been spending campaign cash at a rate of $15,000 an hour.
The popular billionaire incumbent is heavily favored against Democrat William Thompson Jr., who has collected $8 million in donations and public matching funds. He has spent about half of it.
Bloomberg, whose fortune is estimated at $17.5 billion by Forbes magazine, does not raise money and is allowed by law to spend as he wishes on his campaign. He must file expense reports. Bloomberg is founder of the financial information company that bears his name, and is ranked by Forbes as the richest person in New York City and the eighth-richest American.
He has been blanketing airwaves and filling mailboxes with ads, spending seemingly without limit at a pace and intensity that doesn’t appear to match the level of competition in the race.
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