Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced in a written op-ed that he will not run for President. Bloomberg announced the decision in an article headlined, “The Risk I Will Not Take” that was published on Bloomberg View, the opinion arm of Bloomberg. Bloomberg is the financial news and services company founded by Bloomberg. That company earned him billions that he used towards political runs in New York City and he had planned to use in a potential presidential run.
Bloomberg wrote of the extremity that he feels is taking over the political discourse and says that political leaders today are ignoring proven policies of the past. He also writes that he needed to decide soon because of ballot access laws. However, Bloomberg came to the conclusion that he would not be able to win the election. “But when I look at the data, it’s clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I could win a number of diverse states — but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency.”
Bloomberg also wrote that a three-person race could cause no candidate to secure a majority in the Electoral College. The Presidency and Vice Presidency would then be determined by Congress and the House of Representatives, specifically, would determine who the next President would be. A similar event occurred in 1824 where no candidate received a majority and John Quincy Adams won the Presidency, despite Andrew Jackson winning the popular vote and having more electoral votes.
Bloomberg feared that this would cause the Republican nominee, specifically Senator Ted Cruz or Donald Trump, to become President. Of this he said, “That is not a risk I can take in good conscience.”
Despite not running for President, Bloomberg had also began developing a campaign infrastructure. Bloomberg had hired dozens of staffers and advisors and opened campaign offices in North Carolina and Texas. The campaign-in-waiting had began developing television ads and a website. Staffers also began looking at and vetting former Joint Chief of Staffs Chairman Mike Mullen to be Bloomberg’s running mate.