Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” former chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign Matthew Dowd said if the “most unelectable candidates” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton are their parties nominees it would open a “lane for a third party.”
Partial transcript as follows:
STEPHANOPOULOS: I got to say it, there’s also the tidbit in “The New York Times” this morning. I guess you knew this had to be coming. Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, here — thinking the possibility that Donald Trump could be the Republican nominee, Hillary Clinton the Democratic nominee, has done from polling. I’m told, Hugh Hewitt, that that point shows legitimate three-way race.
HEWITT: Please, God.
STEPHANOPOULOS: — could happen?
HEWITT: Please, God.
HEWITT: But Mayor Bloomberg — if you’re watching, do it!
SMILEY: Put it in a sports metaphor, it —
HEWITT: You got me. You got me.
DOWD: I think that the opportunity of — if Ted — if Ted Cruz or Donald Trump are the Republican nominee and Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, you’re going to have the most unelectable candidates competing against each other. It does go by the lane for a third party. I don’t know if a billionaire from New York, is the right candidate can go win delegate votes in Missouri. I just don’t think that’s the right guy.
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