New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has ended his long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“I feel like I’ve contributed all I can to this primary election, and it’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign,” de Blasio told Morning Joe on Friday.
De Blasio, who did not appear in the third debate earlier this month, said he could not see a path forward for his campaign because he could not meet the polling and donation thresholds to make the debate stage.
The mayor said he would continue advocating for the issues that affect working people, warning in an opinion piece published Friday that Democrats must focus on the concerns of working people or risk losing to President Trump in 2020.
“Yes, Donald Trump lies to working people, but he at least pretends to talk to them. That may be enough for him to win if we do not constantly make it clear that the Democrats are the party of everyday Americans in rural counties and urban centers, the coasts and the heartland,” he wrote.
De Blasio’s White House run was a source of scorn from locals in New York, who dismissed the campaign as a vanity project that led to an abdication of his official duties as mayor.
Despite governing the largest city in the country, de Blasio never threatened to rise above the lowest tier of the Democratic field. Most polls throughout the primary race did not show him registering more than 1% in support.
De Blasio’s run also significantly damaged his approval ratings in New York, making him one of the most unpopular politicians in the state.
First elected mayor of New York City in 2013, de Blasio drew criticism for his performance at the June 27 debate in Miami. Placed on the far edge of the debate stage, de Blasio repeatedly tried to mix it up with rival candidates, earning unflattering comparisons to a rude New Yorker. At one point, he challenged former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas over healthcare plans. De Blasio waded into O’Rourke’s allotted time and asked, “How can you defend a system that is not working?”
[Previous coverage: Bill de Blasio draws 15-person crowd in Iowa]
