Former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg receives Augusta mayor's endorsement as he talks gun violence

Friday, Dec. 6, 2019

AUGUSTA, GA (WRDW/WAGT) -- Making one of his first presidential campaign appearances in Georgia, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is set to receive an endorsement from Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. on Friday.

Bloomberg recently entered the Democratic primary and is beginning to pick up endorsements around the southeast. In South Carolina, he received an endorsement from Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin.

The billionaire and former NYC mayor jumped in the race in late November.

Bloomberg appeared alongside Davis at a news conference Friday to discuss his platform.

"I've spent my career bringing people together and tackling big problems and fixing them," Bloomberg said. "It has worked well in business and in running the cities -- the country's largest progressive city. I think it can work in Washington as well."

But the issue at the forefront of his campaign is one we experience right here in Augusta -- gun violence.

"We are certainly not where we want to be having the whole country pass the background check laws," Bloomberg said.

While Davis says crime in Augusta has decreased since Sheriff Richard Roundtree's term, in the past 18 months, gun violence has gone up.

"That's the thing that give us great pause and concern, which is why we're having this conversation today," Davis said.

We got a chance to ask Bloomberg about it. His answer? Unite Congress.

"Convince them to convince their voters that nobody is trying to take away their guns, we're just putting -- we'd like to put in regulations that you can't buy a gun if you have psychiatric problems, if you have a criminal record or if you're a minor," Bloomberg said.

Historically, Georgia is a red state, but Bloomberg says he's concerned that President Donald Trump is one of the only candidates to put money into swing states.

But he's confident Georgia can turn blue if candidates like himself start investing in states like ours.