NEW YORK — Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, struggling mightily in recent opinion polls, pulled the plug on his run for Congress on Tuesday, more than a month out from the vote in the Democratic primary.
In a video he published on Twitter, de Blasio acknowledged that voters in his district are “looking for another option.” The concession came as a humbling blow for the 61-year-old politician, who once fashioned himself as the future of the progressive movement, won two terms at City Hall and even ran for president.
He entered the race for New York’s 10th Congressional District in May, after toying with a run for governor in the winter. The district was redrawn this year and spans from Manhattan’s West Village in the north to Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst in the south.
“These last couple months, I have had this really amazing opportunity to spend time with people in Brooklyn, in Manhattan,” de Blasio said in the video, filmed outside his Park Slope, Brooklyn, home. “It has made me more proud of the city than ever.”
He added that he “respects” the lack of interest voters have shown him, saying he “wants to keep serving — and I’m going to find a different way to serve.”
Even after his popularity plummeted during his time as mayor, some saw his institutional support as a leg up in the crowded primary.
But de Blasio’s performance in opinion polls in the race was almost stunningly bad.
A Data for Progress poll that emerged last week showed him picking up just 5% of the vote.
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