Former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg attends the opening of the Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Atrium at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 17, 2015 in New York City.
Advertisement
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is exploring an independent campaign for president, TIME confirmed Saturday, a move that highlights the ongoing weakness of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and threatens to deliver a major blow to Democratic hopes for maintaining the White House.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, though, spoke in a positive light about Bloomberg.
The Times reporting describes Bloomberg as “galled” by the dominance of Donald Trump in the GOP race and “troubled by Hillary Clinton’s stumbles and the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders” on the Democratic side.
Bloomberg, who declined to comment for The Times story, reportedly could enter the race and still qualify to appear as an independent candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.
A Bloomberg campaign would portray the candidate as a “low-key and cerebral personality” through a series of policy speeches and an intense media blitz, according to sources.
As one Bloomberg adviser told CBS: The current campaign season – one based on the extremes of either party – “has him thinking seriously about this”.
Edward Rendell, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told The Times that if Sanders wins the Democratic nomination, he might throw his support behind Bloomberg.
Although Bloomberg will certainly have the funds and credentials to run a promising presidential campaign, the former mayor will undoubtedly face significant hurdles as an independent candidate late to the party. Those close to the billionaire say he’s discouraged by how the race is going so far and has concerns about Trump, Sanders, and Clinton. No third-party candidate has ever won the US presidency.
Bloomberg will not, however, pursue this pipe dream if Hillary recovers her footing and looks more likely than she does now to win the Democrat nomination. His outspoken support for gun control, for example, as well as other liberal social views, could dissuade some Republicans from backing him.
Popular wisdom also credits a 1992 third-party run by Ross Perot with blowing the election against incumbent President George H.W. Bush in favor of Democrat Bill Clinton, though MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki argues Perot hurt both parties more or less equally. But, you know, he was a good mayor of NY, and if he wants to run, it will probably stimulate the debate.
Advertisement
Sanders is now leading by a huge margin in New Hampshire, the first primary state, and the first-caucus state of Iowa is a dead heat. They met privately at Bloomberg’s offices a few months before Clinton announced her campaign last April, before an event announcing a philanthropic initiative to measure and track data about issues affecting women and girls.
