2020 Election

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Drops out of 2020 Presidential Race

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Drops out of 2020 Presidential Race
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the 2019 National Action Network National Convention in New York on April 3, 2019. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Zachary Stieber
9/20/2019
Updated:
10/24/2019

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.

De Blasio struggled to gain traction and often polled at less than one percent.

“It’s true: I’m ending my candidacy for president. But our fight on behalf of working people is far from over,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter.

De Blasio made the announcement on Sept. 20 on a morning show.

“Getting out there, being able to hear people’s concerns, address them with new ideas, has been an extraordinary experience,” he said. “But I have to tell you, at the same time, I’ve contributed all I can to this primary election. It’s clearly not my time. So I’m going to end my presidential campaign.”

President Donald Trump reacted to the news, writing on Twitter: “Oh no, really big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years! 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.”

He added: “NYC is devastated, he’s coming home!”

De Blasio is the seventh major Democratic candidate to withdraw, following Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

(L-R) Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former tech executive Andrew Yang, former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, and former Obama administration housing secretary Julian Castro appear on stage before the start of the Democratic Presidential Debate at Texas Southern University's Health and PE Center in Houston, Texas on Sept. 12, 2019. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(L-R) Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former tech executive Andrew Yang, former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, and former Obama administration housing secretary Julian Castro appear on stage before the start of the Democratic Presidential Debate at Texas Southern University's Health and PE Center in Houston, Texas on Sept. 12, 2019. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Those who remain in the race are: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Obama administration cabinet secretary Julian Castro, former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.),former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.), billionaire Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), author Marianne Williamson, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Trump is the presumptive nominee on the Republican side, with strong support within his party. Three people are running against him: former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.