McCain courts Bloomberg to back Romney

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), during a stop in Manhattan on Monday, lobbied New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to throw his support behind Mitt Romney.

"I just came in to pay my respects to the mayor. He and I are old friends from many years back,” McCain said, according to the New York Post. “I told him that I just spent last weekend with Romney and I thought that Romney was on message ... and tried to convince the mayor that we’ve got a winning campaign.”

Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-Independent, has long been considered a potential presidential candidate himself and is thought to have cross-party appeal. His endorsement of Romney would provide a boost for the Republican hopeful, who is looking to improve his poll numbers among independent and swing voters.

New York votes in its Republican primary Tuesday, but Romney is already widely expected to prevail in the Empire State contest and it is unlikely Bloomberg would signal an endorsement before then.

In 2008, Bloomberg remained on the sidelines despite being courted heavily by both McCain and President Obama. He was also considered a potential vice presidential choice.

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