Poll: Michael Bloomberg would be the big loser in a hypothetical showdown with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders

In a battle between extremes — Donald Trump on the right and Bernie Sanders on the left — one might expect a centrist independent to be able to nudge his way into the presidency. That was the hope of Michael Bloomberg, who has reportedly been flirting with the idea of jumping into the race.

A USA Today/Suffolk University poll begs to differ, however. It found that in a hypothetical race between Trump, Sanders, and Bloomberg, Bloomberg would be the least likely to win: Trump was chosen by 37 percent of expected voters, Sanders by 30 percent, and Bloomberg by 16 percent.

Having Bloomberg in the race does throw the numbers in favor of Trump, however; without him, the race is a dead heat between Trump and Sanders with 44 and 43 percent respectively. Nevertheless, over half of the poll respondents said they thought the U.S. needed more than two political parties.

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In his time in politics, Bloomberg has identified as a Democrat, Republican, and independent.