Barbour to Bloomberg: Please Don’t Run for Prez

Many Republicans worry that if New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg runs for president in 2012, he will simply siphon votes away from the GOP, guaranteeing re-election for President Barack Obama. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is considering a 2012 run for the White House himself, definitely shares that sentiment, The Hill reports.

"I hope Mayor Bloomberg won't even consider that," he told CNN. "But if there were a strong third-party candidate, there's no question in my mind that candidate would draw votes away from the Republican."

Bloomberg himself said Tuesday it’s doubtful an independent candidate could win a presidential race. "Party affiliation is so strong that ... you could get every independent vote, [and] it would still not be a majority," he said, according to Reuters.