Former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE on Friday dismissed speculation that billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg Michael BloombergBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Democratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons in Florida so they can vote MORE entering the 2020 primary poses a threat to his standing in the field, expressing confidence over his front-runner status.

“I welcome him in the race,” Biden told reporters in New Hampshire. “Michael’s a solid guy, and let’s see where it goes. I have no problems with him getting into the race.”

“In terms of he’s running because of me, the last polls I looked at, I’m pretty far ahead,” he added. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m doing pretty well both relative to [President] Trump and relative to all the people running in the Democratic primary."

Joe Biden on Michael Bloomberg: "I welcome him in the race. Michael's a solid guy...I have no problem with him getting in the race." https://t.co/QWIMgnJgmS pic.twitter.com/RTXhZwt9Di — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 8, 2019

The former New York mayor on Friday filed paperwork to appear as a candidate in the Alabama Democratic primary next year, the first step in a process that could upheave the already-crowded primary field.

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Bloomberg — who like Biden would campaign as a centrist — said in March that he would not run for president but warned that the ultimate Democratic nominee should not take overly progressive policy positions that would “drag the party to an extreme that would diminish our chances in the general election.”

Speculation rose that Bloomberg would reconsider joining the race after Biden, the field’s top moderate, saw a slight dip in the polls amid the surging campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSirota reacts to report of harassment, doxing by Harris supporters Republicans not immune to the malady that hobbled Democrats The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Republicans lawmakers rebuke Trump on election MORE (I-Vt.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE.

Though Bloomberg has not yet made a final decision on if he will run for president, according to a person familiar with his thinking, he has expressed concerns with the current primary field.

“We now need to finish the job and ensure that Trump is defeated — but Mike is increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned to do that,” Howard Wolfson, a close adviser to Bloomberg, tweeted on Thursday without naming any specific candidate.

Should he run, Bloomberg is expected to court voters who fear that progressive policies will prove too liberal in key swing states that Trump won in 2016, the same group to which the Biden campaign is angling its appeal.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Friday found that a majority of Democrats surveyed in six battleground states — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — prefer a more centrist-minded candidate who promises to find common ground with Republicans.

While Bloomberg has a tremendous personal wealth and could find support among the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, he might struggle to gain traction in the primary after entering so late. He would have to rapidly build out his campaign infrastructure to catch up with other candidates who have been organizing for months, and he will have to garner donations from hundreds of thousands of donors to qualify for the Democratic debates.