That's been true of New York Republicans since at least Teddy Roosevelt. If you're a New Yorker of a certain age, you may remember Nelson Rockefeller, Jacob Javits, Louis Lefkowitz and John Lindsay.
Wasn’t John Lindsay a Republican?
Right, but the center keeps moving rapidly left. A progressive Democrat Bloomberg, whether or not he calls himself a Republican, likely could no longer defeat a communist who calls himself a Democrat.