2020 Elections

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio drops out of race for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination

Key Points
  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio abandoned his bid to win the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination.
  • De Blasio was one of three Democratic mayors in the race. The other ones, Pete Buttigieg and Wayne Messam, remain in the race.
  • President Donald Trump trolled de Blasio on Twitter: "NYC is devastated, he's coming home!"
Democratic presidential hopeful Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio participates in the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, June 26, 2019.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio abandoned his long-shot campaign to win the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination on Friday.

De Blasio announced his decision on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show.

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"I feel like I've contributed all I can to this primary election," he said.

"And it's clearly not my time. So I'm going to end my presidential campaign," said de Blasio, who had been one of three mayors seeking the Democratic nomination and a chance to unseat President Donald Trump.

The other two, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam remain in the race.

De Blasio's withdrawal came after months of failing to improve what was persistently ultra-low support in opinion polls tracking voters' preferences for Democratic contenders vying for the nomination.

Recent national polls show de Blasio receiving, at best, support from just 1% of the respondents. His weak support led to him failing to qualify for the third Democratic debate, which took place last week.

A recent Siena College Research Institute poll  found that less than 1% of New York state voters supported his candidacy and 0% of voters in New York City did so.

A month before he announced his run in May — with a message that "Donald Trump must be stopped" — a majority of voters in New York City had a negative opinion about de Blasio's performance as mayor.

And an even larger majority of city residents — 76% — had said he should not run for president.

"The odds are clearly against me," de Blasio said earlier in September.

"But the odds have been against me in every election I've been in, and I've managed to prevail."

Trump reveled in the end the candidacy by his hometown's mayor.

In a tweet, the president sarcastically wrote that Blasio was "polling at a solid ZERO but had tremendous room for growth."

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Steve Bannon: Trump knows 2020 will be a very tough race
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Steve Bannon: Trump knows 2020 will be a very tough race

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