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Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg planning Utah stop

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, the multibillionaire former mayor of New York City, will make a stop Saturday in Salt Lake City, according to his campaign.

A campaign source confirmed Thursday that Bloomberg will be holding a roundtable with as-yet unnamed community leaders followed by a public event at the Impact Hub in Salt Lake City at 4 p.m.

Bloomberg, who is spending his own money on the campaign — and a lot of it — is not doing any fundraising.

In addition to his upcoming debut campaign stop in the Beehive State, he is opening campaign offices and hiring staff.

“He is making Utah a priority,” said a campaign source who was not authorized to speak.

Utah’s presidential primary is on Super Tuesday, March 3, with 15 states and American Samoa casting ballots — and an estimated 40% of Democratic delegates are up for grabs. Bloomberg is going all out, making small-scale public appearances and buying lots of advertising, to try to make a splash fast in these early primary states.

He isn’t the first candidate to visit Utah during this campaign cycle.

Democrat Joe Biden held a private Park City fundraiser in September where he said President Donald Trump’s recklessness in foreign policy and on racial issues has done great damage to the United States.

Elizabeth Warren visited the state in April and touted her plan for public lands, including restoring the original boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments that Trump slashed by 2 million acres.

And former Democratic hopefuls Julian Castro and Rep. John Delaney made earlier stops.