Bloomberg hosts event with Nancy Reagan

While the Republican presidential candidates compete to be most like Ronald Reagan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg — another potential contender — is working with the former president's wife.

Bloomberg is hosting Nancy Reagan at his Manhattan home Wednesday evening to raise money for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, and the guest list includes some major backers of 2008 presidential candidates.

Mrs. Reagan and Bloomberg met years ago and share an interest in stem cell research, among other things. Bloomberg has donated millions for such efforts, a politically controversial issue for many GOP social conservatives because the research often destroys embryos, which some consider to be human life.

The pair had lunch together last June in Los Angeles, just before Bloomberg announced he was becoming an independent and leaving the Republican Party.

Aides say he did not let her in on his big change, which put into overdrive the speculation that he is preparing for his own presidential run. He denies any interest in running but lets his aides openly promote the rumor as he travels around the country, offering his ideas on domestic issues like the environment and education.

Unlike the Republican candidates, who raise Reagan's name constantly on the campaign trail, Bloomberg, who was a Democrat before he joined the GOP, rarely mentions the former president.

On the day Reagan died in 2004, Bloomberg called him "one of our greatest presidents," and last year, the billionaire mayor contributed an undisclosed amount to the presidential library, which is located in Simi Valley, Calif.

The dinner party for about 40 people at Bloomberg's Upper East Side mansion will give the mayor a chance to bask in some of the enduring popularity of the late president and his widow.

The mayor's office does not discus Bloomberg's private parties, but people familiar with the planning shared some details.

The right-leaning guest list includes Ward Connerly, the affirmative action critic who is campaigning next year to ban the practice in five states; billionaire Texas oilman Boone Pickens, a top fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani, and Donald Kendall, retired chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo. Inc., who has given to Republican candidates Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain.

Philip Geier, an advertising executive who has donated to McCain, Romney and Democrat Barack Obama, is also on the list.

Bloomberg regularly hosts parties and fundraisers for various causes and candidates including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, both Republicans; and Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent. He also hosted a fundraiser for McCain in 2003.