First Read looks at what having Mike Bloomberg at the debate this week will mean:

• It could suck the oxygen from some of the candidates trying to compete with Bernie Sanders — like Pete Buttigieg (who won Iowa) or Amy Klobuchar (who finished a surprising third in New Hampshire).
• It gives Sanders and Warren the billionaire foil for their policies and worldview.
• And it means that plenty of scrutiny is probably coming Bloomberg’s way. That could hurt him. Or he could survive and thrive — like Donald Trump did in 2015-2016.

Wall Street Journal: “The billionaire hasn’t held a public event since Saturday evening and has been preparing for the debate in recent days, according to people familiar with his planning.”

Nate Silver: “I shudder to ask the question in part because of bad memories from four years ago, when theories about Donald Trump having a ceiling were a big reason that people like me initially dismissed his chances in the primaries.”

“In Trump’s case, though, there was at least some polling-driven evidence of a ceiling. He tended to lose ground in polls that asked about hypothetical head-to-head matchups against other Republicans, for instance. And his favorability ratings among Republican voters were quite low for someone who was leading the field.”

“There isn’t much evidence of this for Sanders. On the contrary, his favorability ratings are roughly as good as any other Democrat’s — and often the best in the field, depending on which poll you look at.”

Wall Street Journal: “Trav Robertson, the state Democratic Party chairman, has been working in South Carolina politics for 20 years and said the race is the most fluid he has seen.”

Said Robertson: “This race is wide open here. Joe Biden has some work to do in order to close the deal and win South Carolina.”

Politico: “Howard Wolfson, the veteran Democratic strategist who joined Bloomberg’s orbit in 2009 after working on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential race, is playing the role of Bernie Sanders; Julie Wood, Bloomberg’s national press secretary, is depicting Elizabeth Warren; and senior advisers Marc La Vorgna and Marcia Hale are stand-ins for Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, respectively.”

“Bloomberg is trying to hone a crisp and energetic appeal to voters that will contrast with Biden — another white, male septuagenarian on stage, according to advisers.”

Michael Bloomberg is airing another national television ad tying himself to closely Barack Obama.

A new NPR/PBS/Marist poll finds Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic presidential field nationally with 31%, followed by Mike Bloomberg at 19%, Joe Biden at 15%, Elizabeth Warren at 12%, Amy Klobuchar at 9%, and Pete Buttigieg at 8%

This poll allows Bloomberg to qualify for tomorrow’s debate.

Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey confirmed in a statement tomthe Washington Post that Bloomberg would attend the debate.

A new Monmouth poll in Virginia, which votes on Super Tuesday March 3, finds Michael Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders tied at 22% each, followed by Joe Biden at 18%, Pete Buttigieg at 11%, Amy Klobuchar at 9% and Elizabeth Warren at 5%.

Another 11% of likely primary voters remain undecided and do not lean toward any candidate at this time.

Los Angeles Times: “Michael Bloomberg has spent more than $124 million on advertising in the 14 Super Tuesday states, well over 10 times what his top rivals have put into the contests that yield the biggest trove of delegates in a single day. The only other candidate to advertise across most of those states so far is Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has spent just under $10 million on ads for the March 3 primaries.”

“Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign, which has largely focused its attacks on President Trump, mounted a frontal offensive against one of his Democratic rivals for the first time, comparing Sen. Bernie Sanders’s campaign tactics with those employed by the president,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Sanders struck back at a campaign rally later in the afternoon, drawing comparisons between Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Trump. But Mr. Bloomberg was not alone in targeting the Vermont liberal: Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in a television interview, called on Mr. Sanders to disavow attacks by some of his supporters on officials at a Nevada labor union, behavior that Mr. Biden said was ‘Trump-like.'”

Pete Buttigieg says if President Trump refuses to leave the White House after losing his reelection bid in November, he could stay and “do chores,” The Hill reports.

Said Buttigieg: “I mean if he won’t leave, I guess if he’s willing to do chores, I guess we could work something out.”

A new Data for Progress poll in Nevada finds Bernie Sanders leading with 35%, followed by Elizabeth Warren at 16%, Pete Buttigieg at 15%, Joe Biden at 14% and Amy Klobuchar at 9%.

Jon Ralston: “My one caveat is that polls are only as good as their turnout model, and this turnout is very much in flux.”

Jeff Weaver, campaign manager for Bernie Sanders was interviewed by Brooke Baldwin on CNN:

BALDWIN: If Senator Sanders ends up being the nominee — and we know Mike Bloomberg has pledged to donate as much as one billion dollars in an effort to defeat President Trump — would you accept his money?

WEAVER: No.