Mike Bloomberg makes campaign stop at Fresno City College

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- On the same day as the Iowa Caucuses, Democratic Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg told Valley voters he's bringing a fight to Donald Trump.

The former mayor of New York City made his case for the White House by appealing to dozens of supporters who turned out at Fresno City College Monday.

"A very big part of America's economy is in the Central Valley, and if you want to unite the country, it might be nice to bring people from all over, Bloomberg said. "I even went to Maine and Vermont last week. Why the small states? People say, 'why waste your time?' Because if you want to unite, you got to bring everybody."

The Fresno stop is part of a two-day swing through the Golden State that has Bloomberg also campaigning in Northern and Southern California.

Several elected officials have joined the Democrat for his brief tour of the state, including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

"He worked hard on climate change and improving teacher salaries and improving education," Villaraigosa said. "He's someone who gets the job done and an uniter at a time when we have a divider and chief in the White House."

Bloomberg has pledged not to take any donations and says he will fund his campaign himself.

Chairman of the Fresno Republican Party, Fred Van Der Hoof, believes the billionaire has the capital to challenge President Trump but does not think he'll be able to separate himself in a crowded Democratic field.

"Bloomberg has the money and he's going to put a lot of ads on," Van Der Hoof said. "He's already been doing that and with the Super Bowl and so forth. The democrat party is going far left. That's the future of the democrat party. We republicans look at that, and we're astounded. They are really going far left. Bloomberg just isn't in that camp."

It'll be a busy few days for Mike Bloomberg. From Fresno, he went to Compton to campaign, and then he'll be in Detroit on Tuesday.