Newspaper publisher Tom Allon has switched to the Republican Party for his long-shot bid for mayor of New York City.

Allon announced Monday that he would leave the Democratic Party in order to increase his odds of making it to the 2013 general election ballot.

Allon’s Manhattan Media publishes several neighborhood newspapers as well as City Hall and The Capitol. It also publishes the magazines Avenue and New York Family.

His campaign has struggled for attention in a Democratic primary field that includes elected officials such as City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

Allon said he would be a centrist politician like Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party for his 2001 mayoral bid. He later became an independent.

(AP)