Mike Bloomberg's name has been floated as a possible presidential candidate of the independent variety or, as the saying goes, as part of a "unity ticket." Hurl. The theory is that Bloomberg can afford to wait to jump in since he can bankroll his campaign himself and that he'd essentially run against Washington, D.C.
So is he running? Well, he sure has been acting like a candidate recently and this news will only fuel that speculation:
Michael R. Bloomberg, a longtime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for mayor of New York City in 2001, announced this evening that he is changing his party status and registering as an independent.Mr. Bloomberg maintained that "my plans for the future haven't changed," but his decision -- the first change in party affiliation by a sitting New York City mayor since 1971, when John V. Lindsay switched from Republican to Democrat -- immediately set off intense speculation that he will enter the 2008 presidential race as an independent.
If he does enter the race, he'll certainly have the money to compete. If he is able to add that to a message that resonates and win a few states, the electoral college could potentially be deadlocked and the top three candidates would be sent to the House of Representatives. Rasmussen explains it:
The House would then vote, but the result would not be determined by the overall number of Representatives. According to the Constitution, each state gets to cast one vote... and a majority of all the states is required to select a President. That means a candidate needs to get the nod from 26 state delegations before moving into the White House.
Democrats currently control exactly 26 delegations.
This could get interesting.
Update [2007-6-19 18:47:26 by Todd Beeton]: Bloomberg's statement specifies that he actually registered as "unaffiliated", edited title accordingly:"I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our City."From the comments, Pollster brings us Survey USA's 3-way polling of Giuliani, Clinton and Bloomberg in 16 states that shows that Bloomberg's entrance into the race would actually help Hillary (she'd win 11 of the 16 including a few that Kerry lost such as Iowa, Missouri and Ohio. )
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