NEW YORK — Bill de Bl-adios!
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, struggling mightily in recent opinion polls, ended his run for Congress on Tuesday, more than a month out from Election Day in the Democratic primary.
In a video he published on Twitter, de Blasio acknowledged that voters in his House district are clearly “looking for another option.”
The early exit came as a humbling concession 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 staged a campaign for president.
The former mayor entered the race for New York’s 10th Congressional District in May, after toying with a run for governor in the winter.
The district, redrawn this year, spans from Manhattan’s West Village in the north to Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst in the south, and it has attracted a diverse field of Democratic hopefuls jostling ahead of Primary Day on Aug. 23.
In his exit announcement, de Blasio said his foray on the campaign trail had shown him the “amazing spirit people have brought fighting back after COVID” and made him “more proud of the city than ever.”
During the doomed bid, de Blasio often appeared in shorts and a t-shirt as he hopscotched around the district, with an amiable air and a goofy, wide smile on his face. He said it had “been a humbling experience at times — but it’s been a healthy experience.”
“The bottom line is, I’m filled with gratitude today, truly, for all the good in New York City,” de Blasio said in the video, filmed outside his Park Slope, Brooklyn, home. “I feel New York City in my heart and soul. I really do. And I’m just appreciative.”
Even after his popularity plummeted during his time as mayor, some saw his institutional support as a leg up in the crowded primary race. He is an ally of Mayor Adams, and has long boasted sturdy support in the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
His name recognition alone set him apart from the field. And though some candidates in the race had heftier war chests, de Blasio still had scored a significant haul, raising more than $500,000 through the end of last month, with more than $450,000 on hand, according to his campaign.
But de Blasio’s performance in opinion polls in the race was almost stunningly dismal, apparently dragged down by negative impressions he left with city voters of various political stripes during his time at City Hall.
A Data for Progress poll that emerged last Thursday showed him picking up just 5% of the vote. In the survey, which was published by City & State, a jaw-dropping 72% of voters said they had an unfavorable view of him.
And a Working Families Party poll conducted this month and released Monday showed him sputtering at 3% and trailing behind six candidates. De Blasio said his own internal polling reinforced the gloomy picture for his campaign, and he made his decision to drop out Tuesday morning.
“When I saw the first poll on Thursday, I thought ‘that doesn’t look right’— I mean, you’re always a little hopeful,” he told the Daily News. “But when you see that much objective evidence, you’ve got to take it seriously, and I did. I just realized it wasn’t viable to continue.”
City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera and state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, two Manhattan progressives, led the field in the Working Families Party survey, with each picking up 16% of the vote.
Other candidates in the field include Rep. Mondaire Jones, a first-term Westchester congressman who moved to Brooklyn after he was drawn out of his current district; Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, a civil rights lawyer; and Daniel Goldman, who led the first House impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump.
Elizabeth Holtzman, an 80-year-old trailblazer who served in Congress from 1973 to 1981, is also staging a long-shot bid.
De Blasio said that he intends to remain in public service in some capacity outside of electoral politics, but that it is “too soon” to say if he will endorse another candidate in the 10th Congressional District race.
Chris Coffey, a political consultant who lives in the district, said he would not blame de Blasio’s campaign for his woes in the race.
“Sometimes the dogs just don’t like dog food. I think the campaign did a good job here, but in this case the voters are the dogs,” Coffey said. “It’s not even that they don’t like what he’s selling. They just don’t like him.”
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