Bloomberg tested waters for 2016 bid

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) commissioned a poll in December to see how he’d fare as a third-party presidential candidate in the 2016 general election.

CNN reports that Bloomberg, who was once a Democrat but was elected mayor of New York City as a Republican and as an independent, conducted the survey to test his strength as an independent candidate against the major party front-runners Hillary Clinton (D) and Donald Ttrump (R).

{mosads}Bloomberg’s aides declined to discuss the poll’s finding with CNN or The New York Times.

Bloomberg, a billionaire media mogul who has made gun control his driving issue, has flirted with an independent bid for president in the past but has never taken the plunge.

He investigated the possibility of an independent run in 2008, and Democrats reportedly approached him last year about considering the possibility again.