Michael Bloomberg Considering 2020 Presidential Run (Report)

By Ted Johnson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – WASHINGTON — Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and founder of Bloomberg LP, is considering a run for president in 2020, according to a report from New York’s CBS affiliate .

Bloomberg, who returned to run his media and financial services empire after his tenure as New York mayor ended in 2013, recently announced that he planned to spend $80 million on the midterms, with most of the money going to efforts by Democrats to win back the House.

According to the report, Bloomberg would run as a Democrat. The field is expected to be especially crowded, with more than two dozen political figures and corporate executives considering a bid.

Bloomberg considered running in 2016 as an independent, but ultimately decided against it an endorsed Hillary Clinton. He spoke at the Democratic National Convention that year, delivering a scathing speech about Donald Trump.

Bloomberg, who is now 76, also considered bids in 2012 and 2008, but declined to enter the race. He was a registered Republican when he was first elected New York mayor in 2001, but switched his affiliation to independent in 2007.

“Republicans in Congress have had almost two years to prove they could govern responsibly,” Bloomberg wrote earlier this month. “They failed. As we approach the 2018 midterms, it’s critical that we elect people who will lead in ways that this Congress won’t — both by seeking to legislate in a bipartisan way, and by upholding the checks and balances that the Founding Fathers set up to safeguard ethics, prevent the abuse of power, and preserve the rule of law. And so this fall, I’m going to support Democrats in their efforts to win control of the House.”

A spokesman for Bloomberg did not immediately return a request for comment.

Bloomberg wrote that he has “plenty of disagreements with some Democrats, especially those who seek to make this election about impeachment. Nothing could be more irresponsible.”

He added, “‘We the People’ cannot afford to elect another Congress that lacks the courage to reach across the aisle and the independence to assert its constitutional authority.”

Bloomberg has sided with Democrats on issues like climate change, immigration, and gun control.