Billionaire and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg filed official paperwork to run for president in the 2020 Democratic primary.
It is a key procedural move and not a declaration that he is indeed running.
A spokesman for Bloomberg later explained that his filing in the primary state of Alabama started a 15-day process to file with the FEC. "This is not an announcement and not an indication of a decision," the aide added.
It's Bloomberg's latest maneuver toward a likely run for president. He has also filed to compete in various other primaries including Alabama and Texas. His aides have said that if he runs he will be focusing on Super Tuesday states and bypassing the early primaries, such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The business titan, who has a net worth of just over $55 billion, has been in active discussions with his allies for months about possibly entering the election after declaring in March that he would not be a contender.
Bloomberg's team has previously said that he plans to spend over $100 million if he runs for president. Apart from his ambitions to run for president, Bloomberg has committed $100 million to a digital ad campaign against President Donald Trump.
