2020 Race: NY Mayor Bill De Blasio Quits Democratic Primary Race

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ended his presidential bid Friday, admitting his brand of urban progressive leadership just didn’t play nationwide.

In an appearance on MSNBC, de Blasio said he would continue to speak up for working people.

“Getting out there — being able to hear people’s concerns, addressing them with new ideas — has been an extraordinary experience, but I have to tell you at the same time 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 said.

De Blasio proposed a workers Bill of Rights that guaranteed such things as paid time off and medical leave. He also pushed to increase taxes on the wealthy to fund the proposals.

De Blasio, seen largely as a longshot, said he was the perfect foil for President Trump since both are New Yorkers. Taking a page from the president, de Blasio labeled Trump “Con Don.”

Trump greeted de Blasio’s decision with sarcasm, calling the action “shocking.”

A recent Siena College poll indicated fewer than 1% favored de Blasio as the Democratic nominee. De Blasio managed to raise just $1.1 million, his first campaign filing revealed, much of it coming from a single labor union that does business with the city. He failed to qualify for last week’s third Democratic debate in Houston.

The latest polls indicate three Democratic hopefuls – former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts – are significantly ahead of the rest of the field. They also indicate a significant number of voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing.

De Blasio, who is in his second term as mayor, said he was not ready to endorse any of his rival Democrats but does plan to support the eventual nominee.

“Whoever’s the nominee, I’m going to be there for them,” he said.

Friday’s decision makes de Blasio the sixth candidate to quit the race. Reps. Eric Swalwell of California and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand stepped away earlier.

In addition to the top three, those remaining in the race include South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttgeig, Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar and Reps. Beto O’Rourke of Texas and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, whose campaign is based on guaranteeing every American a basic income of $12,000, and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro also are still in the race, along with spiritualist Marianne Williamson.