Michael Bloomberg eyeing 2016 presidential run

A 3rd-party candidate could help real estate tycoon Trump if he lands the Republican nomination

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, said he is considering running for US presidential elctions in 2016, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The 73-year-old founder of the eponymous financial information group was critical of the quality of debate in the presidential contest and said he was “looking at all the options” when asked whether he was considering a run, the newspaper said.

“I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters,” Mr Bloomberg told the Financial Times in an interview, adding that the US public deserved “a lot better.”

Mr Bloomberg has already told aides to draw up plans for an independent campaign for the US presidency. He would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his own money on a campaign for the November 2016 election, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the former mayor’s thinking.

Mr Bloomberg has given himself an early March deadline for entering the race, the source said, after commissioning a poll in December to see how he would fare against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the Republican and Democratic frontrunners.

No third-party candidate has ever won a US presidential election. But Mr Bloomberg, who has close Wall Street ties and liberal social views, sees an opening for his candidacy if Republicans nominate Mr Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz and the Democrats nominate Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the source said.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed a third-party presidential run by Mr Bloomberg would be a long shot but could help real estate mogul Mr Trump if he lands the Republican nomination.

In a matchup between Mr Trump and Ms Clinton, adding Mr Bloomberg’s name to the ballot would trim Ms Clinton’s lead over Mr Trump to six per centage points from 10, according to the poll conducted in January. In a matchup pitting Mr Trump versus Mr Sanders, adding Mr Bloomberg would erode Mr Sanders’ lead over Mr Trump to seven points from 12, the poll results showed.

In all matchups, Mr Bloomberg himself would land just 10 percent or less of the vote in November.