ANT KATZ

Jewish media billionaire Michael Bloomberg has told friends and associates that 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 on anonymity to discuss the former mayor’s thinking.

News of Bloomberg mulling a presidential run was first reported on Saturday by the New York Times, followed by reports from Reuters.

Bloomberg, 73, has given himself an early March deadline for entering the race, unnamed aides say, 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 Bloomberg, who has close Wall Street ties and liberal social views, sees an opening for his candidacy if Republicans nominate Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz and the Democrats nominate Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the New York Times source said.

Bloomberg served as mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. He switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent in 2007.

One unnamed Bloomberg adviser told the Times the former mayor believes voters want “a non-ideological, bipartisan, results-oriented vision” that has not been offered in the 2016 election cycle by either political party.

A well-financed presidential run by Bloomberg could disrupt the dynamics of the election, but the billionaire would face significant obstacles by entering a race that has been in full swing for nearly a year.

SPLITTING THE VOTE

Though no third-party candidate has ever claimed the White House, several previous bids have affected the overall makeup of the race. In 1992 Texas businessman Ross Perot ran as an independent, a decision that some believe helped Democrat Bill Clinton defeat incumbent Republican George HW Bush.

Bloomberg earned 13 per cent support when facing a hypothetical three-way race against Clinton and Trump, according to a poll of 4 060 registered voters conducted January 14-17 by Morning Consult. Trump and Clinton were virtually tied at 37 and 36 per cent, respectively, the survey found.

Part of Bloomberg’s motivation to enter the race stems from a frustration with Clinton’s campaign, the source said. Clinton has been dogged by questions about her honesty amid an ongoing investigation into her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.

Bloomberg has become increasingly worried about a general election between Sanders, a self-described socialist, and Trump or Cruz, both of whom have staked out far-right positions on issues like immigration, say pundits. Bloomberg is in favour of capitalism and of reforming immigration in the other direction to the Republicans.

JTA reports that, while Clinton still prevails in national polls over Sanders, the latter has begun to surpass her in polling in the first two voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Bloomberg has maintained close ties to Israel, making a last-minute visit to the country during its 2014 war with Hamas to show that travel was safe in the face of a brief Federal Aviation Authority ban.

He won the 2014 $1 million Genesis Generation Challenge, a prize awarded for “engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and/or the State of Israel”. His charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, has provided $1,5 million to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in urban innovation grants.

He made his fortune, now valued around $40 billion, from the media and financial data company he founded, Bloomberg L.P.