Michael Bloomberg says he will not enter the 2016 presidential race because after looking at the data he has concluded he could not win and it could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.
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Writes Bloomberg in an op-ed piece:
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.
In a three-way race, it’s unlikely any candidate would win a majority of electoral votes, and then the power to choose the president would be taken out of the hands of the American people and thrown to Congress. The fact is, even if I were to receive the most popular votes and the most electoral votes, victory would be highly unlikely, because most members of Congress would vote for their party’s nominee. Party loyalists in Congress — not the American people or the Electoral College — would determine the next president.
As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I can take in good conscience.
Bloomberg accuses Trump of running “the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears” and appealing to our “worst impulses.” He calls Cruz “no less extreme.”
Bloomberg says he is not endorsing any candidate as of yet.
