Mayor of New York leaves Republican Party

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has left the Republican Party and switched to “unaffiliated”.

The billionaire former CEO, who was a lifelong Democrat before he switched to the Republican Party in 2001 for his first mayoral run, said the change did not mean he would be running for US president.

“Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city,” Bloomberg said.

With an estimated worth of more than 5 billion dollars, he could easily finance an independent presidential bid.

The 65-year-old mayor has increasingly been the subject of speculation that he will run as an independent candidate in 2008, despite his repeated promises to leave politics after the end of his term in 2009.

He has fuelled the buzz with increasing out-of-state travel, a greater focus on national issues and repeated criticism of the partisan politics that dominate Washington.

“The politics of partisanship and the resulting inaction and excuses have paralysed decision-making, primarily at the federal level, and the big issues of the day are not being addressed, leaving our future in jeopardy,” he said in a speech on Monday at the start of a University of Southern California conference about the advantages of non-partisan governing.

Throughout his five and a half years as mayor, Bloomberg has often been at odds with his party and President George Bush.

He supports gay marriage, abortion rights, gun control and stem cell research, and raised property taxes to help solve a fiscal crisis after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

But he never seemed willing to part with the Republican completely, raising money for the 2004 presidential convention and contributing to Bush and other Republican candidates.

Just last year, he told a group of Manhattan Republicans about his run for mayor: “I couldn’t be prouder to run on the Republican ticket and be a Republican.”

“If he runs, this guarantees a Republican will be the next president of the United States. The Democrats have to be shaking in their boots,” said Greg Strimple, a Republican strategist in New York who is unaligned in the race.

The belief among some operatives is that Bloomberg’s moderate positions would siphon votes from the Democratic nominee.

Former Democratic Party Chairman Donald Fowler said Bloomberg would be “a disturbing factor to both parties”, but the mayor would probably draw more Republican votes simply because “Republicans are more disenchanted than Democrats”.

“Democrats are pretty happy with their candidates,” Fowler said. “The Republicans are absolutely in disarray.”

He called Bloomberg “an exceptionally capable guy” who is “hard-nosed and accomplished”, but argued that the obstacles for a third-party candidate are so daunting that it would be almost impossible for Bloomberg to win.

In 1992, Texas businessman Ross Perot captured 19 percent of the popular vote as Democrat Bill Clinton seized the presidency from incumbent Republican President George Bush.

Independent Ralph Nader played the spoiler in the 2000 race, taking votes from Democrat Al Gore in a disputed election won by President George Bush.

Most polls find Bloomberg drawing votes from Republicans.

“He could have a significant impact on the campaign,” said independent pollster Scott Rasmussen. “Nationally there’s a significant segment of the electorate that would give serious consideration to Bloomberg as a candidate.”

His entry into the campaign would give the presidential contest a decidedly New York flavour, with Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator on the Democratic side, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani on the Republican.