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DCCC slams Shadegg for suggesting Bloomberg's daughter will be kidnapped'

Washington(CNN) - A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee criticized a Republican congressman Tuesday for suggesting that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's daughter will be kidnapped by terrorists, calling it evidence that the GOP has been taken over by "Right Wing extremists."

"In case there's any doubt of the Republican Party being taken over by the likes of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Michele Bachmann and other Right Wing extremists, last night Republican Rep. John Shadegg actually suggested that Mayor Bloomberg's daughter will be kidnapped by a terrorist," DCCC spokesman Ryan Rudominer said in a statement.

"This is what happens when you have a Republican Party undeterred by their embarrassing loss in the NY-23 Special Election and desperate to win over the Right Wing fringe," he added.

On the House floor on Monday night, Shadegg criticized Bloomberg for supporting the Obama administration's decision to have the suspected 9/11 terrorists face a trial in New York City. Bloomberg said last week that it's "fitting" to have them tried close to the World Trade Center site and that the city has "hosted terrorism trials before," but Shadegg warned of other repercussions.

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Bloomberg appears headed for victory.

(CNN) – A new survey suggests that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, running for a third term in office, holds a 12-point lead over his Democratic rival with just one day to go before voters there head to the polls.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Monday morning, 50 percent of likely New York City voters support Bloomberg, running as an independent, with 38 percent backing the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller William Thompson. Ten percent of those questioned are undecided and 1 percent supports Stephen Christopher, the Conservative party candidate.

Bloomberg's 12 point lead is down from an 18 point advantage he held over Thompson in a Quinnipiac poll released a week ago. Bloomberg was up 15 points over Thompson in a Marist College survey that came out Friday.

The survey indicates that Bloomberg is leading overwhelmingly among Republicans, has a 40 point advantage among independent voters, while Thompson leads by 5 points among Democrats. The poll suggests a racial divide, with Bloomberg leading among white voters by 42 points and Thompson holding a 39 point advantage among African-Americans. Hispanic voters back Bloomberg by eight points.

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NYC Mayor Bloomberg up by double digits in home stretch.

(CNN) – A new survey suggests that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, vying for a third term in office, holds a 15-point lead over his Democratic rival, with just four days to go before voters there head to the polls.

According to a Marist College survey released Friday, 53 percent of likely New York City voters support Bloomberg, running as an independent, with 38 percent backing the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller William Thompson. Nine percent of those questioned are undecided, or backing other candidates.

Bloomberg held a 16-point advantage in a Marist poll conducted last week and was up 18 points over Thompson in a Quinnpiac University survey released earlier this week.

Bloomberg holds an even bigger lead over his rival in another key campaign measure: he's spend more than $33 million on TV ads, according to an analysis of New York City's mayoral race by TNSMI-CMAG, CNN's consultant on campaign ad spending. Bloomberg's launched 50 different ads during his re-election bid, which have aired more than 11,000 times. Bill Thompson, Bloomberg's Democratic rival, has spent just over $2.66 million on TV ads.

The Republican-turned-independent mayor has outspent most of the Republicans who ran in last year's presidential primaries, according to TNSMI-CMAG's Evan Tracey - his $33 million outlay is more than three times what John McCain spent to win the GOP nomination, and makes up the lion's share of the roughly $50 million in mayoral campaign ads that have hit the airwaves in the pricey New York media market.

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Bloomberg has a clear lead in the New York City's mayoral race.

(CNN) – A new survey suggests that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, vying for a third term in office, holds an 18-point lead over his Democratic rival, with just eight days to go before voters there head to the polls.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday morning, 53 percent of likely New York City voters support Bloomberg, running as an independent, with 35 percent backing the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller William Thompson. Ten percent of those questioned are undecided, and 3 percent support Conservative Party candidate Stephen Christopher.

Bloomberg held a 16-point advantage in a Quinnpiac survey conducted in late September. Bloomberg also held a 16-point lead in a Marist College poll that was released last week.

The Quinnipiac survey suggests that Bloomberg is leading overwhelming among Republicans, has a 36-point advantage among independents, and is splitting the Democratic vote with Thompson. The poll indicates a racial divide, with white voters backing Bloomberg by a 2-to-1 margin, African-Americans supporting Thompson in roughly the same proportion, and Hispanics backing Bloomberg by 14 points.

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(CNN) – Last fall, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg won his campaign to extend the city's mayoral term limits from two four-year terms to three. Next week, he'll see if voters think he should serve a third term.

Bloomberg, an independent, held a 16-point lead over Democratic City Comptroller Bill Thompson, 52-32 percent, in the latest polling conducted by Marist College. Twelve percent of likely voters said they supported other candidates or remained undecided.

Full story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/25/2009.mayors/index.html

The New York Times endored New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's re-election campaign Saturday.

NEW YORK (CNN)– The New York Times endorsed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bid for a third term Saturday, praising his ability to handle the most difficult situations.

"Mr. Bloomberg has been a first-rate steady hand during unsteady times," an editorial in The Times said. "He guided the city out of the post-9/11 recession, then tucked away money during the boom years that followed. That foresight has helped New Yorkers weather one of the worst economic downturns in 80 years. Mayor Bloomberg has easily earned another four years."

The editorial commended Bloomberg's Democratic opponent, city Comptroller William Thompson, but said he has spent too much time attacking the New York Mayor, and too little time laying out his proposed policies for the city.

Bloomberg won a campaign last fall to allow for a third mayoral term.

While his favorability in the polls took a minor dip after he persuaded New York's city council to overturn the term limits, the latest poll conducted by Marist College show Bloomberg, an independent, with a 16-point lead over Thompson, 52-32 percent. Twelve percent of likely voters said they supported other candidates or remained undecided.

A new poll suggests that Michael Bloomberg holds a 16-point lead over his Democratic rival.

(CNN) – With less than two weeks until election day, a new poll suggests that Michael Bloomberg holds a 16-point lead over his Democratic rival as the New York City mayor bids for a third term in office.

According to a Marist College survey released Thursday, 52 percent of likely New York City voters support Bloomberg, running as an independent, with 36 percent backing Democratic New York City Comptroller William Thompson, and 12 percent supporting other candidates, or undecided.

That 16-point lead for Bloomberg is up from a 9-point advantage in a Marist poll conducted in September. Bloomberg also held a 16-point lead in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted in late September.

The Marist poll suggests that Bloomberg is leading among Democrats, 47 percent to 49 percent. That's a switch from last month, when Thompson held a slight majority of Democrats likely to vote in the November election. The poll also indicates Bloomberg taking the Republican vote, but Thompson ahead 48 percent to 41 percent among independents.

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Bloomberg has a clear lead in the New York City's mayoral race.

(CNN) – With less than six weeks left until Election Day, a new poll suggests that Michael Bloomberg holds a 16 point lead over his closest rival in the New York City mayor's bid for a third term.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday morning, 52 percent of likely New York City voters support Bloomberg, an Independent, with 36 percent backing New York City Comptroller William Thompson, who recently won the Democratic primary for mayor, and two percent supporting Conservative Party candidate Stephen Christopher.

The poll indicates that Bloomberg leads Thompson 75 to 12 percent among Republicans and 61 to 25 percent among independent voters, with each candidate grabbing 46 percent of Democrats votes.

The survey also suggests that white voters back Bloomberg 62 to 26 percent while African-Americans back Thompson 53 to 35 percent. Hispanic voters questioned in the poll say they back Bloomberg 53 to 37 percent.

"Comptroller William Thompson, fresh from a big Democratic primary win, got no post-primary bounce in his campaign to unseat Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has a 16-point mountain to climb and less than six weeks to do it," says Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted September 16-21, with 1,513 New York City likely voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg sent out his first Twitter message in both English and Spanish.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who built a communications empire by fusing technology and journalism, entered the Twittersphere Tuesday when he sent out his first micro-blog message. And he did it with a twist.

Bloomberg, who is seeking a third term in November, sent out a note that was written in English and Spanish.  @MikeBloomberg wrote: "Good morning! Trying this out during my spanish lesson. Como se dice 'first tweet'?"

News quickly spread around that the mayor's first tweet was partly in Spanish, but it is not the first time a language other than English has been used to convey a message by a politician on Twitter. For example, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a Twitter account that only tweets his news in Spanish. And the White House not only tweets in English and Spanish, but has also sent out a message in Farsi.

Twitter does not maintain data on how many Hispanics use the social networking or how many people tweet in Spanish. Yukari Matsuzawa, who heads Twitter's International team, did tell CNN via e-mail, "It is very exciting though that Mayor Bloomberg is tweeting in Spanish! We hope to encourage more international tweets."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg holds a 10 point lead over his top Democratic challenger.

(CNN) - The top Democratic challenger to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg now trails the mayor by 10 percentage points, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

That's a drop from the 22-point lead Bloomberg held over New York City Comptroller William Thompson in the previous Quinnipiac poll released June 16.

Fifty-nine percent of New York City voters give Bloomberg a favorable rating in Tuesday's poll while 34 percent rated the mayor unfavorably. Sixty-three percent approve of the job Bloomberg is doing, while 29 percent disapprove.

Tuesday's poll surveyed 1,290 New York City registered voters from July 21-27. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. In the poll, Bloomberg was identified as "running as both a Republican and an independent" while in Quinnipiac's June 16 survey, Bloomberg was identified only as an independent.

Bloomberg gets good numbers in a new poll.

(CNN) – A new poll indicates Michael Bloomberg outpaces either of his main possible Democratic opponents in his bid for a term term as New York City mayor.

The Quinnipiac University survey of New York City voters released Tuesday morning suggests that the Republican-turned-independent mayor tops his chief rival, City Comptroller William Thompson, 54 percent to 32 percent in a November general election matchup.

The poll indicates Bloomberg would win across the board in the hypothetical matchup, winning Democrats by 9 points, Republicans by 59 points, and Independents by 33 points. Bloomberg would also win the white and Hispanic vote and split the African-American vote.

If Bloomberg faces off against Queens City Council member Tony Avella, the survey suggests Bloomberg leads by 30 points. The poll indicates Thompson tops Avella by 28 points in a Democratic primary match up, with nearly half of those questioned undecided.

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Bloomberg gets a strong approval rating in a new poll.

(CNN) - He may be struggling to woo the political rank and file, but a new poll suggests that Michael Bloomberg is getting a far warmer reception among his city’s voters: in a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday, nearly two out of three New Yorkers approve of how Michael Bloomberg is handling his duties as mayor, giving him double-digit leads over two Democratic challengers as he runs for re-election to a third term.

Sixty-five percent of those questioned in the new survey approve of the job Bloomberg's doing as mayor. While that's down 4 points from a Quinnipiac poll conducted last month, it’s still an impressive showing — especially given the current tough economic news, and the grim outlook for New York City's budget.

If the November 2009 mayoral election were held today, the poll indicates that Bloomberg would top New York City Comptroller William Thompson 50 to 33 percent, and would beat Rep. Anthony Weiner 48 to 36 percent.

The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Independent has faced resistance from some GOP and Independence Party leaders over his quest to gain their support for his re-election bid. Forty-one percent of the New Yorkers questioned in the new survey say Bloomberg should run for re-election as an Independent, with 19 percent suggesting he should run as a Democrat and 11 percent as a Republican.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted February 17-22, with 984 New York City registered voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Bloomberg is running for a third term.

(CNN) - Winning a third term may not be an easy feat for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a new poll out Friday suggests.

The two-term mayor is facing his lowest approval rating in four years, according to a new survey from Marist College, having dropped 7 percentage points from a similar survey three months ago. Now, 52 percent of New Yorkers approve of Bloomberg's job performance, down a full 16 points from October.

A plurality of voters, 49 percent, also say New York City is moving in the wrong direction, and 55 percent think it's time for a new mayor.

Still, it's not all bad news for Bloomberg. The Independent mayor easily beats any possible Democratic candidates, including New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, and City Council Member Tony Avella.

The poll surveyed 827 registered voters in New York City on February 16 and 17. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Sixty-nine percent of New York City residents questioned in a Quinnipiac poll released today approve of Bloomberg's job as mayor. Only one in four disapprove of how Bloomberg's handling his job running City Hall.

(CNN) – A new poll suggests that New York City voters approve of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as mayor, even if they oppose the extension of term limits that allowed him to run for a third term.

Sixty-nine percent of New York City residents questioned in a Quinnipiac poll released today approve of Bloomberg's job as mayor. Only one in four disapprove of how Bloomberg's handling his job running City Hall.

The poll also indicates that New York City voters give the Republican-turned-independent double-digit leads over his likely Democratic challengers in this year's mayoral election: The poll suggests New Yorkers would back Bloomberg over New York City Comptroller William Thompson 50 to 34 percent, and would support him over Rep. Anthony Weiner 50 to 35 percent.

New Yorkers give Bloomberg high approval ratings and support him for re-election, but the poll suggests that 56 percent of them disapprove of the City Council's move last year to extend term limits, allowing Bloomberg and the City Council members to run for third terms. Sixty-one percent of those polled say the limit of two four-year terms should be restored after this year's election.

The Quinnipiac University phone poll of 1,216 New York City registered voters was conducted January 20-25. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured here in a 2004 file photo with Caroline Kennedy, has refused to back Kennedy in her bid for a New York Senate seat.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declined Thursday to endorse Caroline Kennedy as Hillary Clinton’s successor, but added that he knows “exactly” who should be the next senator to represent his state.

But he wouldn’t give a name.

Bloomberg did praise Kennedy saying that “she’s very competent” and “she’s done a lot for New York City,” but added that he is not in the position to publicly endorse any prospective replacement for Clinton, who is President-elect Barack Obama’s designate for Secretary of State.

“I should stay out of the race, personally,” Bloomberg said during an appearance on ABC’s ‘The View.’

“It’s not my call. If it were my call to pick somebody, I know exactly …,” added Bloomberg, who was immediately asked “Would you pick her?”

“I can’t tell you, because then I’d be getting involved,” Bloomberg responded.

Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg’s deputy mayor, is supporting Kennedy’s bid to be appointed to the seat by New York Gov. David Paterson.

Bloomberg also noted that Paterson is “lucky to have a number of different candidates” to consider for the seat.

–CNN Producer Shirley Zilberstein contributed to this report.

Michael Bloomberg's approval ratings have dropped since trying to change the city's mayoral term limits.

(CNN) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's approval rating appears to have taken a significant hit since he successfully sought to change the city's mayoral term limits.

According to a new survey from Marist College, Bloomberg's approval rating is down 9 points from a similar survey taken one month ago. The mayor still enjoys a 59 percent approval rating, though Marist reports this is the first time since 2005 it has been in the 50 percent range.

"The voters don't like being defied, and Bloomberg is paying a penalty for persuading the City Council to overturn term limits that were passed twice by New York City voters," CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said.

"He has one advantage, Schneider also said. "No Democrat at this point seems strong enough to over take Bloomberg. He also has another advantage. Lots of money."

Fist elected in 2001, Bloomberg cited the financial crisis for the reason he was seeking a third term.

"I don't think the city needs another campaign. It's going to be tough enough to get us through this," Bloomberg told reporters last month referring to the meltdown on Wall Street.

The poll was conducted from November 17-19, and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Mayor Bloomberg is asking city council to change term limits.

NEW YORK (CNN) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday he is asking the city council to change the office's two-term limit allow him to run for a third term.

"If the City Council should vote to amend term limits, I plan to ask New Yorkers to look at my record of independent leadership and then decide if I've earned another term," Bloomberg said in a news conference at City Hall.

The mayor, a billionaire businessman, is credited with helping New York City recover economically after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, which felled the twin towers of the World Trade Center and killed more than 2,700 people.

Elected for the first time just two months after the attacks, Bloomberg pumped tens of millions of dollars of his own money into that campaign, as well as his bid for re-election in 2005.

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

NEW YORK (CNN) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday that whoever wins the presidency in November, "at least we'll have an adult in office who can lead and accomplish something."

During a question-and-answer session, Bloomberg said he will not have to agree on all matters with whomever he ultimately endorses for president.

"I'm looking for a candidate that is willing to face reality and say, 'We can't have everything and there are costs and we've got to make choices.'"

Full story

BROOKLYN, New York (CNN) – Introducing John McCain before his economic speech and roundtable in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the Arizona senator for showing him the ropes when he ran for mayor in 2001 - and credited his victory to the presumptive Republican nominee.

“I got elected because of you,” Bloomberg told McCain. “So if the people of New York are happy, they should say thank you to you.”

The mayor joked that his “good friend” burned ribs on the barbecue during a visit to McCain’s ranch in Arizona, though, “I will say it’s relatively small to be called a ranch.”

The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Independent mayor showered McCain with compliments. “No matter what your political affiliation or your views are, [McCain] really deserves to have the term hero attached to his name,” said Bloomberg, calling the senator “nothing if not forthright.”

Bloomberg did make it known what he expected of McCain: “the measure I think we ought to apply in judging candidates is are they candid? Do they offer concrete solutions to our most difficult problems? And that’s what we’ll be looking for today.”

Without pointing to any one candidate, Bloomberg argued, “we need strong leadership, we needed it after 9/11 and I think we need it even more today than ever before.”

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN)—Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue their focus on the economy Thursday. In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Suzanne Malveaux explains the candidates’ stances on economic reform.

Michael Bloomberg introduced Barack Obama at a campaign event, fueling speculation the New York City Mayor may endorse the Illinois senator’s White House bid. CNN’s Mary Snow has the details.

Also, the Jeremiah Wright controversy does not appear to have had a negative effect on Obama’s presidential run. Jessica Yellin reports on new poll findings.

Finally, talk radio host and CNN commentator Glenn Beck compares the looming Social Security and Medicare crisis to a “$53 trillion asteroid headed for earth.”

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–CNN’s Emily Sherman and Alexander Mooney