As someone who strongly condemns the Trump administration, the Democratic primaries mean more to me than choosing the best candidate. There are candidates in the Democratic race who I like far more than Michael Bloomberg, but I believe that he may be the only one who is able to beat Donald Trump in the November election.

According to a Quinnipiac national poll, Bloomberg is currently the Democratic candidate with the highest likelihood of beating Trump, with Bloomberg holding 51 percent of votes and Trump holding 49 percent. I believe part of this can be attributed to the fact that he is a moderate candidate, and conservatives who do not want to vote for Trump may be more willing to vote for a candidate like Bloomberg. Because my primary hope in this election is to remove Trump from office, I believe that Bloomberg may be the best Democratic candidate for that task.

Aside from his likelihood of beating Trump, Bloomberg aligns well with Democrats on key issues. One of his priorities is moving the country towards 100 percent renewable energy to combat climate change, which is a major pressing issue right now. He wants to set pollution limits and clean energy standards. He also intends to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, which will have a major impact on many families who are struggling to make ends meet.

Bloomberg wants to make college more affordable and accessible by implementing more loan forgiveness programs and increasing Pell grants. He plans to close the loophole on private gun purchases and require gun owners to obtain a permit before purchasing a gun. He is pro-choice, and in support making birth control more affordable and accessible to women across the country.

These are just some of the many policies of his that I agree with. They are also issues that many Democrats feel passionately about and that I believe he could execute well as president.

Moreover, Bloomberg has experience. He was the mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2014, and, as president, intends to implement many of the New York policies that have proven successful.

Because he is a more moderate candidate, he also may be able to make more of a bipartisan effort and decrease polarization in Congress. He can appeal to both ends of the political spectrum.

I understand that he is not the perfect candidate. He was only able to join the election late because he is extremely rich, and many people believe he “bought” his way into the election. He also passed some controversial legislation during his time as mayor. He has several non-disclosure agreements with past female employees regarding controversial comments he has made. Despite the many things that are quite unappealing about Bloomberg, he may be the one who can beat Trump. For that reason, I feel hopeful that he could end the Trump-era of American politics.

Jess Furjanic is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at [email protected].