Bloomberg is setting himself up to run as an independent this year, especially if Sanders is the nominee. There’s this very interesting little detail in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article (behind WSJ paywall) about his campaign:In 1992 Ross Perot is believed to have cost Bush I reelection. Perot siphoned off more votes from disappointed Republicans than from Democrats.
The campaign paid as much as double the going rate for staff and promised jobs to workers through November, whether or not Mr. Bloomberg stays in the race. The candidate, who is funding his run entirely by himself, now has 1,000 campaign staffers.If you’ve seen any of Bloomberg’s ads, they are sustained attacks on Trump, which look like general election ads. He doesn’t mention he is a Democrat.
I am sure his thinking runs like this: Sanders (or Warren) would be a landslide loser to Trump, so it might well be possible for a well-funded independent to siphon up enough votes from disaffected Democrats, independents, and other reluctant Trump voters to win a close three-way race.
I expect almost-Democrat Bloomberg would weaken the opposition to Trump, clearly not his intent. I don’t see him cutting into the Trump base, or winning many black votes who, in the hypothesized three-way race, might stay home.
