New York State gained a high-profile registered Democrat on Tuesday: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg re-registered with the party, a key move in what could be a 2020 bid for president as a Democrat. On Wednesday morning he posted a photo on Instagram of him signing the paperwork, with a caption that reads, "At key points in US history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats. Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat—I had been a member for most of my life—because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs."
Bloomberg had been a Democrat until he changed his registration in 2001 and was elected mayor that year as a Republican. He gave up that registration six years later and had been unaffiliated with a party since. Bloomberg characterizes his move as "one of his most overt ... to date" in terms of a possible presidential run. It notes that last month he said in a New York Times interview that he believes a third-party candidate cannot win the presidency, and that were he to run, he would do so as a Democrat. CNBC is unsurprised by the move, which comes on the heels of some serious financial announcements: The billionaire has pledged as much as $100 million to support Democrats' efforts to retake the House and Senate in the 2018 midterms, the Washington Post reports. (More Michael Bloomberg stories.)
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