It’s a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire. https://t.co/H02radEZcv — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 18, 2020

Criticism of Bloomberg from his Democratic competitors has intensified over the past week, with both the primary's progressive candidates and more moderate White House contenders deploying harsh language to condemn his record as mayor of New York and accusing him of attempting to buy the presidency.

Those tensions are all but certain to come to a head on stage Wednesday, when Bloomberg is bracing to receive incoming fire from Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Warren.

Bloomberg's campaign has spent weeks preparing him for the debate, urging the candidate to tone down his occasionally irritable demeanor and hone a persuasive message of electability.

For now, Bloomberg is emerging as one of the top challengers to Sanders for the nomination, frustrating the campaigns of other candidates who are up against his hundreds of millions of dollars in ad spending.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey released Tuesday showed Bloomberg with 19 percent of Democrats' support nationally, second only to Sanders with 31 percent. Biden placed third in the poll with 15 percent support, followed by Warren with 12 percent, Klobuchar with 9 percent and Buttigieg with 8 percent.