Bloomberg: Rich don't have electoral edge

NEW YORK, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has attempted to ease concerns that he could buy an election by saying rich people can also run a losing campaign.

Citing unidentified statistics, Bloomberg said the odds of running a successful campaign were the same for self-financed campaigns as they were for electoral endeavors based on fundraising, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"One of the things to give you comfort, if you're worried about people buying elections, is that statistics show that wealthy people who self-finance don't win with any greater frequency than those who have to go out and raise money from others," Bloomberg said Tuesday.

Bloomberg's finances were the recent focus of comments made by former U.S. President Bill Clinton during a recent appearance in Iowa.

"I like him, he's a really good mayor," Clinton said of Bloomberg and billionaire status. "If he runs for president, he could spend $1 billion and hardly miss it. That's real money for most of the rest of us."