Bloomberg nearly says he "bought" Democratic majority in South Carolina debate

Former New York City mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg came close to saying that he "bought" the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, but caught himself and said he "got them".

The former New York mayor was touting the millions he spent to help elect Democrats to the House in 2018, arguing that he is the candidate to keep it under Democratic control, according to New York Post.

"They talk about 40 Democrats that were elected to deliver a Democratic majority in 2018. Twenty-one of those were people they spent USD 100 million to help elect. All of the new Democrats that came in, put Nancy Pelosi in charge and gave the Congress the ability to control this President, I boug... I got them," CNN quoted Bloomberg as saying during the 10th Democratic presidential debate here on Tuesday night.

Adding that he has shown he can beat US President Donald Trump, the former mayor said, "Tonight is about who can beat Trump and who can do the job. I have shown I can beat Trump -- on guns and climate, and in the 2018 midterms. I am the only one with a proven record of successfully governing one of the most complex cities in the world."

"As mayor, I brought good jobs, good schools and safe streets to NYC's diverse communities. I also made mistakes that I regret. But I am committed to righting those wrongs: My Greenwood Initiative is the most ambitious effort to create black wealth in a generation," he said.

Asserting that some action should be taken to tackle the menace of racism, Bloomberg said, "I know if I were black my success would have been a lot harder to achieve. That is just a fact and we have got to do something about it rather than just demagogue about it."

He also said that improving education is the only way to fix poverty and change children's lives.

"In New York, rather than just talk about it, we did it. I raised teacher salaries by 43 per cent and graduation rates by 42 per cent."

Today's debate is the last debate before Super Tuesday on March 3, which will see 14 states holding nomination contests.