‘Time For Me To Leave Electoral Politics’

Topline

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is dropping out of the highly competitive New York 10th Congressional District race and also closing the door on running for elected office for the time being, saying he intends to “leave electoral politics and focus on other ways to serve” after a string of unsuccessful campaigns.

Key Facts

De Blasio tweeted he decided to drop out after it became “clear” that voters “are looking for another option and I respect that.”

A recent survey from left-leaning polling firm Data for Progress found De Blasio in seventh place with just 5% support in the 10th District.

This marks the third unsuccessful political venture for De Blasio over the past three years—he dropped a Democratic presidential bid in 2019 and decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for New York governor this year despite months of fundraising after polls found him far behind incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D).

Crucial Quote

“I’m feeling a lot of gratitude. I’m also recognizing that I made mistakes,” De Blasio said in a video. “I want to do better in the future. I want to learn from those mistakes.”

Key Background

De Blasio was at one point a highly popular mayor of the largest U.S. city, cruising into office with more than 73% support in the 2013 mayoral contest and winning reelection with 66% of the vote in 2017. His progressive policies, like raising the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and implementing universal pre-K, broadened his national recognition and for a while made him a rising star in the left wing of the Democratic Party. But a series of setbacks during his second term, including a rise in crime, led New Yorkers to sour on De Blasio. By the time he was weighing a gubernatorial bid last fall, his approval rating in New York State was lower than those of former President Donald Trump and scandal-ridden former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), according to a Siena College poll.

What To Watch For

The top candidates for the redrawn 10th District appear to be New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera, New York Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and attorney Dan Goldman, who was lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment trial. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who had represented a mainly Manhattan-based 10th District since 2013, will face Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) in the 12th District in a high-profile matchup of two longtime representatives. The 10th District, which starting next year will largely consist of Brooklyn and a small section of Lower Manhattan, is among many being significantly redrawn after state courts threw out a Democratic-proposed map Republicans said put the GOP at an unfair disadvantage.

Further Reading

Judge Blocks New York Congressional Map Over Democratic Gerrymandering (Forbes)

De Blasio will not run for governor after all (Politico)