Bloomberg visits New Hampshire, fueling 2020 speculation

Former three-term New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited New Hampshire Saturday, further fueling speculation that he may run for president in 2020.

Bloomberg, 76, who recently re-registered as a Democrat, told reporters that he is focused on the midterm elections but is keeping open his future political options.

{mosads}“Right now I’m focused on Nov. 6, plain and simple,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

But the billionaire owner of Bloomberg News also said “we’ll see what happens down the road,” when asked about his plans after the midterms. 

New Hampshire traditionally hosts the first presidential primary in the country soon after the Iowa caucuses and is seen as a crucial contest for White House hopefuls who want to build early momentum.

Bloomberg visited Nashua to attend a get-out-the-vote rally for state House candidates organized by Moms Demand Action, a grass-roots advocacy group promoting gun control legislation.

The former mayor himself is an outspoken advocate of preventing gun violence and co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns in 2006.

He flirted with an independent bid for president in 2016, announcing he would wage a White House campaign if President Trump won the GOP nomination and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the Democratic nomination.

But when Hillary Clinton defeated Sanders in the Democratic primary, Bloomberg shelved his bid.

Asked where he fits in today’s Democratic Party, Bloomberg described himself and the broader party as centrist.

He argued that Democrats are “much more centrist than people understand. They want sensible laws. And what they want is some check and balance on the White House,” according to Concord Monitor reporter Paul Steinhauser, who tweeted a video of the exchange.

Bloomberg has also told House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that he will help Democratic candidates this fall.