CNN

Bloomberg is no long affiliated with the Republican party.

NEW YORK (CNN) - In a move likely to strengthen speculation about a possible independent bid for the White House in 2008, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he filed papers Tuesday to officially change his party affiliation from Republican to "unaffiliated."

"Although my plans for the future haven't changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city," he said in a statement announcing the switch. "As a political independent, I will continue to work with those in all political parties to find common ground, to put partisanship aside and to achieve real solutions to the challenges we face."

Bloomberg's decision brings to an end more than 13 years of improbable GOP rule in the nation's largest city, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by better than 5 to 1.

Bloomberg, 65, a billionaire media magnate, had been a Democrat before switching to the GOP to run for mayor in 2001. He was re-elected in 2005 with 58 percent of the vote, after pouring more than $84 million of his own fortune into his campaign.

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