Bill de Blasio drops out of the congressional race after a poll by just 3% and admits voters were “looking for another option”.
- The ex-NYC mayor tweeted that he was leaving “electoral politics.”
- It was de Blasio’s second run for federal office after a failed White House bid
- “I love the people of this city. I really want to keep serving and I will find another way to serve,” de Blasio said in a video he posted online
- He competed in a crowded primary for the 10th Circuit of New York
- De Blasio called his gaffe-plagued career in politics “humiliating” but “healthy.”
Bill de Blasio ends his congressional ambitions, former NYC the mayor said Tuesday after a short-lived and unpopular bid for the House of Representatives.
De Blasio continued to write Twitter that he is exiting “electoral politics” altogether — also closing the chapter on his tenure as mayor and his unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign.
It follows a new poll showing de Blasio with just 3 percent support from voters in New York’s 10th congressional district.
“I really listened to people carefully. And I realize that people are looking for another option when it comes to this congressional district,” de Blasio said in a video message. “And I respect that.”
“I just want to say that I love the people of this city. I really want to keep serving and I will find another way to serve.’
He didn’t elaborate on what that would be, but said his campaign for the House of Representatives had been an “amazing journey” and thanked his small base of support.
“Even if that won’t work, I hope you know how much I appreciate you and we will do a lot together to make this city better in the future,” de Blasio said.
The unpopular progressive admitted he’s “made mistakes” and said he wants to “get better going forward”.
Bill de Blasio announced he was out of “electoral politics” but vowed to find another way to serve in a video Tuesday afternoon
De Blasio called his career in politics – which has been marked by a barrage of bad headlines and the unity among otherwise conflicting groups in their disdain for him – a “sometimes humbling experience”.
“But it was also a healthy experience,” he said. “And the bottom line is that today I’m filled with gratitude – really.”
Voice shaking slightly with emotion, de Blasio said, “I feel New York City in my heart and soul, I really do, and I’m just grateful.”
The former mayor’s last campaign for federal office ended in September 2020, just weeks after an event hosting his presidential campaign Iowa only attracted about 15 people.
New York’s newly created 10th Ward includes downtown Manhattan and the boroughs of Dumbo, Red Hook and Park Slope in Brooklyn.
De Blasio announced his candidacy in May, but multiple polls show he failed to stand out from a field of more than a dozen candidates – all of varying degrees of fame and background.
Tuesday’s poll, released by the progressive Working Families Party (WFP), shows de Blasio coming second of the top eight candidates, with just 3 percent.
Leading the way were Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York State Assembly — which WFP supports — and Carlina Rivera, a New York City Councilman, each with 16 percent.
Behind him was Democratic attorney Daniel Goldman with 10 percent. Goldman was the lead advocate for the House Democrats in their first impeachment trial against Donald Trump.
Current House Representative Mondaire Jones is also vying for the vacant seat in Congress, although his support has so far failed to reach 10 percent in multiple polls.
Jones currently represented the state’s 17th congressional district, which includes portions of Westchester, just above New York City, and the lower Hudson Valley.
He moves to 10th after his current district’s redrawn boundaries put him in a hard-fought race against fellow progressive MP Jamaal Bowman.
The 10th district was held by House Judiciary Chair and longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler, but Nadler vacates it to run for the new 13th district, which includes his home neighborhood of the Upper West Side.
This puts Nadler up against House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney in a historic clash between two veteran senior members of the same party.
And the vacancy has also created a power vacuum that Goldman, Jones and others are struggling to fill.
