© Provided by CBS Dallas

DALLAS, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Democratic Presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg kicked off his national campaign with a bus tour in Texas, including Dallas.

The campaign says about 300 people came to see Bloomberg in Dallas along with well-known TV Judge Judy Sheindlin — who has endorsed him.

He joked, “It’s great to be here in Dallas campaigning for the second hardest job in the country, that’s behind head coach of the Cowboys of course.”

The former New York City Mayor and the judge came to Dallas after riding on the bus they’re calling the “Get It Done Express” from San Antonio and Austin.

“This is the greatest country in the world,” Sheindlin said. “It needs a proven leader and an innovator.”

Bloomberg has advocated for stricter gun control and dealing with climate change. He supports giving people a choice to buy into medicare, but opposes getting rid of private health insurance, and he would raise taxes on the wealthy.

“I’m here because we have to defeat Donald Trump,” he said Saturday night.

Some who attended said they haven’t made up their minds but that Bloomberg is in the mix.

“He would be. Well, probably Klobuchar, but everybody thinks a middle-aged woman like me likes Klobuchar, Biden, Buttigieg,” Democrat Carol Croft said.

President of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, Brandon Vance, said it’s a toss up between Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Bloomberg.

Since late November, Bloomberg — a billionaire who is self-financing his campaign — has blanketed the airwaves in Texas with millions of dollars in ads.

When asked why he’s betting so much on Texas, the former New York City mayor told CBS 11 he’s betting on the entire country.

“Betting on all the states that will have all the primaries in March, but Texas has 38 votes, it’s one of the top three or four states in the country,” he said.

In the Real Clear Politics average of national polls, Bloomberg is in 5th place, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Bloomberg said, “What I’ve got to do is explain to people what I’ve done, what my experience is and what I’ll do if they vote for me.”

Currently, Bloomberg is in 5th place in the most recent Texas poll by CNN early last month.

Texas is part of Super Tuesday, one of 14 states to hold primaries and caucuses March 3.

Biden plans to return to Dallas for a fundraiser Thursday.