Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has asked his advisers to create a campaign plan for an independent presidential bid since the billionaire sees a potential opening in the race, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
Bloomberg has told friends that he is considering spending at least $1 billion on the race and that he will decide on a run by early March, according to the New York Times.
He has said he’s likely to launch a bid if Republicans nominate either Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Democrats nominate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), according to the Times.
The Times reported that Bloomberg commissioned a poll in December to test his chances in the general election and plans on conducting another poll after the New Hampshire primary in February.
According to an online Morning Consult poll conducted in January, Bloomberg would receive 13 percent support in a three-way race with Trump and Hillary Clinton. Trump received 37 percent support and Clinton received 36 percent support.
According to the poll, Bloomberg’s entrance into the race would hurt Clinton more than Trump. Compared to a two-way race between Trump and Clinton, Trump’s support dropped by 5 points with Bloomberg in the running and Clinton’s support dropped by 8 points.
Morning Consult surveyed 4,060 registered voters online Jan. 14-17 with a margin of error plus or minus 2 percentage points.
