Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is apparently musing a presidential bid as a third-party independent candidate.
Bloomberg has reportedly said that he's willing to sink $1 million into his campaign, and is actually polling pretty decently against Republican and Democrat frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. (Considering he's, obviously, not campaigning yet.)
Here we go: Trump 37, Hillary 36, Bloomberg 13 in new Morning Consult national poll https://t.co/J8YD3TyBA2 pic.twitter.com/XtPzfpQxVy
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) January 22, 2016
From the New York Times:
Galled by Donald J. Trump’s dominance of the Republican field, and troubled by Hillary Clinton’s stumbles and the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on the Democratic side, Michael R. Bloomberg has instructed advisers to draw up plans for an independent campaign in this year’s presidential race.
Mr. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has in the past contemplated running for the White House on a third-party ticket, but always concluded he could not win. A confluence of unlikely events in the 2016 election, however, has given new impetus to his presidential aspirations.
Mr. Bloomberg, 73, has already taken concrete steps toward a possible campaign, and has indicated to friends and allies that he would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his fortune on it, according to people briefed on his deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his plans. He has set a deadline for making a final decision in early March, the latest point at which advisers believe Mr. Bloomberg could enter the race and still qualify to appear as an independent candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.
Well, this could be interesting. Stay tuned...
Let's just do Clinton v Trump v Bloomberg v Sanders v Gore v Bush v Webb v Sharpton v Ron Paul v Deez Nutz and get it over with.
— Andrew Stiles (@AndrewStilesUSA) January 23, 2016