LISTEN TO ARTICLE 1:47 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email 
 
 Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he is formally changing his voter registration to Democrat, a possible step toward running for president in 2020. 
 
 Bloomberg, 76, has been a political independent since abandoning his Republican Party registration in 2007. He has said he is considering running for president as a Democrat -- making this one of his most overt moves to date toward a possible White House campaign. 
 
 Michael Bloomberg Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg 
 
 “Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat -- I had been a member for most of my life -- because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs,” Bloomberg said. 
 
 Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. 
 
 Bloomberg was elected mayor of New York City as a Republican in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He announced in 2007 he was changing his registration to be unaffiliated with a party and won a third four-year term as an independent in 2009. 
 
 The former mayor considered running for president as an independent in 2016 but ultimately endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton, who lost to Republican Donald Trump. Bloomberg told the New York Times in September he now believes that only a major-party candidate can win the presidency, and if he were to run in 2020, it would be as a Democrat. 
 
 The change in party affiliation comes after Bloomberg decided to spend millions in the 2018 election to help elect Democrats. According to the New York Times, he’s approved allocating at least $80 million, with the bulk supporting the Democratic campaign to take control of the U.S. House. His advisers told the Washington Post this month, amid the contentious fight over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, that he would spend an additional $20 million to help Democrats retake the U.S. Senate. 

 Mike Bloomberg is a Democrat. Again. 
 
 The billionaire former New York mayor, who is considering a run for the White House in 2020, announced on social media early Wednesday that he re-registered as a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously run for office as a Republican and an independent. 
 
 In his Instagram post, Bloomberg cited a need for a check on power in Washington. The Republican Party holds the White House and Congress, and the Supreme Court has a widely perceived conservative majority now that Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed. 
 
 "At key points in U.S. history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats," Bloomberg wrote on Instagram. "Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat – I had been a member for most of my life – because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs." 
 
 He also took to Twitter. 
 
 The move comes as no surprise. Bloomberg has said he would shell out millions of dollars to support Democrats as they try to grab majorities in Congress in next month's midterm elections. 
 
 Earlier this month, a super PAC funded primarily by Bloomberg spent more than $2 million in support of seven Democratic women looking to unseat Republicans in House races. That came after his pledge to invest $80 million to support Democratic congressional candidates this year. He also said he would donate $20 million to a super PAC dedicated to getting Democrats elected to the Senate. 
 
 While he considers a run against President Donald Trump, Bloomberg has some work cut out for him if he wants to appeal to the base of his new party. While Bloomberg, who has previously flirted with the idea of running for president, has positioned himself as a socially progressive billionaire, advocating for gun control and environmentalist policies, he has taken some stances that might not be palatable to rank-and-file Democrats. 
 
 In a recent New York Times interview, he chided liberals for pushing aggressive regulatory policies on big business and major banks. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, both considered potential contenders for the Democratic nomination in 2020, are popular among the party's base. 
 
 Bloomberg has also defended the "stop and frisk" tactics once used by police in New York before a federal judge ruled that the policy was being applied in an unconstitutional manner. It's an issue on which Bloomberg shares some common ground with Trump, who called for its use in Chicago to reduce violent crimes there. 
 
 "Stop and frisk works," the president said earlier this week at a police chiefs convention. 

 Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, announced Wednesday that he has registered as a Democrat, a move certain to stoke further speculation about whether he intends to run for president in 2020. 
 
 Bloomberg, a former Republican and more recently declared political independent, announced his decision in an early morning Instagram post in which he referenced his speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. 
 
 [Michael Bloomberg jolts Senate battle with $20 million for Democrats] 
 
 “At key points in U.S. history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution,” he wrote. “Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats. Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat — I had been a member for most of my life — because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs.” 
 
 Bloomberg has said he will “take a look” at a presidential campaign after the midterm elections. 
 
 He has been working in recent months to solidify his ties to the Democratic Party. 
 
 Last week, Bloomberg announced he would give $20 million to the main Democratic Senate super PAC. 
 
 The enormous sum brings Bloomberg — who has already pledged to spend $80 million to support Democratic congressional candidates — up to $100 million in spending commitments for the 2018 election cycle, firmly positioning himself in the Democratic camp as he contemplates a White House bid. 
 
 Robert Costa contributed to this report.
– New York State gained a high-profile registered Democrat on Tuesday: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg re-registered with the party, a key move in what could be a 2020 bid for president as a Democrat. On Wednesday morning he posted a photo on Instagram of him signing the paperwork, with a caption that reads, "At key points in US history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats. Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat—I had been a member for most of my life—because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs." Bloomberg had been a Democrat until he changed his registration in 2001 and was elected mayor that year as a Republican. He gave up that registration six years later and had been unaffiliated with a party since. Bloomberg characterizes his move as "one of his most overt ... to date" in terms of a possible presidential run. It notes that last month he said in a New York Times interview that he believes a third-party candidate cannot win the presidency, and that were he to run, he would do so as a Democrat. CNBC is unsurprised by the move, which comes on the heels of some serious financial announcements: The billionaire has pledged as much as $100 million to support Democrats' efforts to retake the House and Senate in the 2018 midterms, the Washington Post reports.