Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg To Endorse Hillary Clinton In Prime-Time Convention Speech

The New York Times is reporting that billionaire and former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, will speak in prime-time at the Democratic National Convention and endorse Hillary Clinton for president.

The news is an unexpected move from Mr. Bloomberg, who has not been a member of the Democratic Party since 2000; was elected the mayor of New York City as a Republican; and later became an independent.

But it reflects Mr. Bloomberg’s increasing dismay about the rise of Donald J. Trump and a determination to see that the Republican nominee is defeated.

Mrs. Clinton is seeking to reach out to middle-of-the-road swing voters and even moderate Republicans uneasy about Mr. Trump. Polls show that significant numbers of Republicans remain wary of Mr. Trump, and question his fitness for the presidency.

Mr. Bloomberg will vouch for Mrs. Clinton “from the perspective of a business leader and an independent,” said Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Mr. Bloomberg.

Mr. Bloomberg, who has been sharply critical of Mr. Trump’s views on immigration and the economy, may fortify Mrs. Clinton’s appeal to the political center.

This will the first time Bloomberg will speak at any political party's national convention in a political role.  In 2004, the 3-term mayor appeared at the Republican National Convention in his role as mayor of the host city.

Bloomberg considered an independent run for president this election cycle, but chose otherwise out of concern splitting voters might help elect Donald Trump.

Michael Bloomberg Gets Low Double-Digits In Hypothetical Independent Presidential Run

Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump

Last week, the New York Times reported that former 3-term mayor of New York City and uber-billionaire Michael Bloomberg is considering a possible independent run for the White House.

(Donald Trump likes to say he's really rich. Donald, compared to you, Bloomberg is REALLY, REALLY rich).

Having been a Democrat turned Republican turned Independent, Bloomberg believes he could pull voters from both major political parties. Plus, being worth more than $30 Billion, he could easily drop $1 Billion of his own money without blinking.

But a Morning Consult poll shows the former mayor would not fare well in a three-way race:

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a ways to go if he wants to win as a third-party candidate for president. According to a new Morning Consult poll, Bloomberg, an independent, gets just 12 percent of voters when competing in a three-way race with the Democratic underdog candidate Bernie Sanders and Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Sanders, a democratic socialist who has recently tightened the race with front-runner Hillary Clinton, gets 35 percent of voters. Trump gets a nearly identical 34 percent.

Bloomberg is considering entering the race as an independent, third-party candidate if Trump and Sanders are the eventual nominees, the New York Times reported on Saturday, because he could compete with two candidates on the fringes of their parties.

But Bloomberg’s poll numbers barely change when he is competing against Sanders instead of Clinton. In a Morning Consult poll released last week, Bloomberg got 13 percent of voters, Clinton got 36 percent and Trump got 37 percent.

Bolding is mine.

The point being: why spend a billion dollars to come in a distant third?

NYC Mayor Bloomberg to create new Independence PAC

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg today announced the formation of a new super PAC, Independence PAC. He will support candidates from any party with the caveat that they support three issues: marriage equality, stricter gun laws and education reform.  Word is he's prepared to spend up to $15 million between now and election day.

An anonymous Bloomberg official said, "This spending sends a clear message that the mayor intends to keep his wallet open after he leaves office to influence national policy around issues like guns, education and marriage equality." And according to the New York Times, Bloomberg's already supporting a number of candidates.

Among those whom Mr. Bloomberg will support are former Gov. Angus King, an independent running for the United States Senate in Maine; State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, who is challenging a fellow Democrat, Representative Joe Baca of California, who the mayor believes has been weak on gun-control; and Representative Bob Dold, a Republican from Illinois who has backed gun-control measures.

Bloomberg is "likely" to support the Washington and Maine gay marriage ballot battles, according to the paper.

(source)

NYC Mayor Bloomberg donates $250,000 to Maryland marriage equality fight

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made the largest individual contribution received by proponents of same-sex marriage in Maryland, the NYT reports:

Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire who attended college in Maryland at Johns Hopkins, dipped into his personal fortune to help persuade New York lawmakers to approve same-sex marriage in 2011, and he has supported a similar effort in New Hampshire. His contribution came after discussions with Maryland’s governor, Martin O’Malley, a Democrat who has spearheaded the effort to pass the referendum, known as Question 6.

“The fact that someone of Mayor Bloomberg’s national stature and recognition would care about our referendum campaign for civil marriage equality, I think, tells people all over our country that this is a serious and real campaign,” Mr. O’Malley said in an interview on Thursday evening from Kentucky, where he was attending the vice-presidential debate.

In related news, HRC added an additional $1 million to the state marriage battles:

This brings HRC’s total contributions to the four ballot measures to $4.4 million and $7.3 million overall during this election cycle.