Several members of Michael Bloomberg’s national Jewish leadership team are throwing their support behind former Vice President Joe Biden following the former mayor’s departure from the presidential race Wednesday morning. The “United for Mike” team, comprised of more than 30 Jewish communal leaders, elected officials and CEOs, was first announced at a January campaign event in Florida. 

Smooth transition: Daniel Lubetzky, the founder and CEO of KIND, told JI he was now supporting the former vice president because “Biden is a strong leader that will unite our country and protect the American values that have made our country so exceptional and that have been so severely threatened as of late: respectful discourse, rule of law, freedom of expression, democracy, empathy and more.”

Striking a similar tone: Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Sam Yebri, partner at the law firm of Merino Yebri LLP, and co-founder of “30 Years After,” each pointed to Biden’s character. Sarna noted that Biden has focused on “restoring dignity and decency,” while Yebri said it had become “abundantly clear” that the electorate wants to “return to the decency and stability that Vice President Biden represents.” Yebri also noted Biden’s positions on key issues for the Jewish community: “He has a strong consistent record — condemning antisemitism, supporting the U.S.-Israel alliance, and advocating for the most vulnerable in our society.”

The cause that matters: Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, former head of the Rabbinical Assembly and co-chair of United for Mike, told JI that Biden is the right person “to win this race, unite our country and lead on the many crucial issues” which prompted her to push for Bloomberg’s candidacy. “We came together because as American Jews we are united for the many ways in which our Judaism, our community, and the incredible gifts of being American inspire us to want to make this country all that it can be,” she said. 

Sunshine State support: Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), who served as a surrogate for the Bloomberg campaign, also endorsed Biden on Wednesday. “Joe has the experience, judgment, and decency to defeat Donald Trump and bring America together,” Deutch — who joined fellow Florida Reps. Lois Frankel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz in backing Biden — said in a statement. 

Former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is expected to announce his national Jewish leadership team at an event in the battleground state of Florida next week, according to an invitation obtained by Jewish Insider. 

The “United for Mike” campaign event will take place at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center & Tauber Academy in South Florida on Sunday afternoon. According to the invite, Jewish community leaders will have “an opportunity to hear directly from” Bloomberg “about his priorities and plans for our future.” 

In recent weeks, the Bloomberg campaign quietly expanded its Jewish outreach team, adding several staffers who worked in Bloomberg’s mayoral administration. Journalist and author Abigail Pogrebin joined the campaign as director of Jewish outreach in November.

Jewish voters represent 3 to 6 percent of the electorate in Florida, one of the toss-up states that could determine the outcome of the presidential race.  According to a 2016 exit poll, 68 percent of Jews in the state voted for Hillary Clinton. 

Florida, which is holding its Democratic primary on March 17, uses proportional representation to determine its 219 Democratic National Convention delegates.

Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz joined the team this week as a policy advisor and surrogate, and the campaign has for weeks been flooding Florida’s airwaves with Bloomberg ads. Earlier this month, Bloomberg states director Dan Kanninen explained the campaign’s focus on the state to Politico, “Florida is a critical March state and key battleground state for beating Donald Trump this fall.”