Bill De Blasio Drops Out of Presidential Race After Finishing Dead Last in Home State Poll

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out of the presidential race Friday after failing to gain any support, even in his home state.

“I feel like I’ve contributed all I can to this primary campaign, and it’s clearly not my time,” the mayor said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Friday. “I’m going to end my presidential campaign, continue my work as mayor of New York City, and I’m going to keep speaking up for working people.”

De Blasio tried to position himself as an unapologetic progressive, proposing a “Workers Bill of Rights” to guarantee paid time off and medical leave to workers and vowing to “tax the hell” out of the rich to pay for it, The New York Times reported.

It was all for naught. De Blasio repeatedly found himself behind even candidates who already dropped out in the polls and a recent poll by Siena College showed him with less than 1 percent support among New York Democrats.

De Blasio raised only $1.1 million according to his first campaign finance report. By comparison, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised twice as much money from New York City residents as de Blasio raised across the entire country.

Trump gloats:

President Trump sarcastically mocked his hometown mayor on Twitter after de Blasio’s announcement.

“Oh no, really big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years!” the president taunted. “Part time Mayor of New York City,  @BilldeBlasio, who was polling at a solid ZERO but had tremendous room for growth, has shocking dropped out of the Presidential race. NYC is devastated, he’s coming home!”

De Blasio vows to bring progressive policies to NYC:

Forced back to his actual day job, de Blasio wrote in an NBC News op-ed that he would bring his platform to New Yorkers.

“I’m going to redouble my efforts to improve the quality of life of everyday New Yorkers, proving that policies like guaranteed paid personal time off can work on a grand scale,” he wrote. “I’m going to continue implementing universal health care and a Green New Deal in the nation’s largest city. And I promise I’ll fight for New Yorkers and workers everywhere to ensure there’s an actual plan to protect their livelihoods from being automated out of existence.”

“I’ll also help ensure our party continues to be remade in the image of the activism I’ve seen all across this nation. Democrats must return to our roots as a party focused on bold solutions that speak to the concerns of working people,” he added. “If we do not, we will lose in 2020.”

 

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