Update. Not Independent. Unaffiliated.
I don’t see how a Bloomberg run could possibly hurt any Republican candidate. I think it could only help, and he’s one of very few people who could finance his own campaign. How many billions is he worth?
Is that a distinction without a difference in New York? In MA, unaffiliated voters used to be called Independent, but a third-party called itself the Independent Party (I forget when) and once got 3% or whatever of the vote -- enough for permanent ballot standing. So now the unaffiliated are officially Unenrolled. A friend of mine -- a lifelong real independent immediately registered as a Dem because "unenrolled" sounded too much as if it meant "unregistered."