Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a staunch supporter of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, visited New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday in an attempt to gain his support for Romney.
For most of his life Bloomberg was a liberal Democrat, but originally ran for mayor as a Republican and is now an independent. McCain endorsed Bloomberg in his initial 2001 mayoral campaign and considered him as a vice presidential candidate in 2008.
“I just came in to pay my respects to the mayor. He and I are old friends from many years back,” McCain told the
New York Post as he left City Hall. “I told him that I just spent last weekend with Romney, and I thought that Romney was on message . . . and tried to convince the mayor that we’ve got a winning campaign.”
As for Bloomberg, his spokesman Stu Loeser said, “Any day Sen. McCain has time to stop in at City Hall is a great day for us.” The mayor has expressed great disappointment in President Barack Obama’s performance. But given some of his liberal stances, Bloomberg may be reluctant to support Romney.
New York magazine speculates that a Bloomberg endorsement might not help Romney much. The mayor’s support for gun control, state healthcare reform, and gay marriage could alienate conservatives, it says.
On the other hand, Bloomberg could attract moderates. And that’s the key constituency Romney will have to win if he is going to defeat Obama.
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