Democratic presidential front-runner Bernie Sanders performs slightly better than Donald Trump in a three-way general election matchup that includes former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to a new poll.
Bloomberg, who’s reportedly considering an independent White House bid, takes just 12 percent of voters against Sanders and Trump in a Morning Consult poll released Monday. Thirty-five percent of U.S. voters would support Sanders, Vermont’s 74-year-old senator, while 34 percent would back Trump.
Sanders does far better in three-way match-ups against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Bloomberg. The socialist senator edges Cruz 36-28 percent, with Bloomberg taking 11 percent, and beats Rubio 36-29 percent, with 10 percent of voters backing Bloomberg.
Last week, the same poll said Trump would narrowly beat Hillary Clinton in a three-way race that included Bloomberg, 37-36.
According to the New York Times, Bloomberg will decide whether to launch a 2016 bid of his own by March. Should he choose to enter the race, the former Democratic mayor is reportedly willing to spend up to $1 billion of his own fortune on his campaign.
The survey of 1,439 registered voters was conducted between Jan. 21-24 and contains a margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points.
