NYC Mayor de Blasio ends US presidential campaign

September 21, 2019 Yesterday, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, New York, ended his campaign for president of the United States. De Blasio made the announcement live on television just after 7:30 a.m. (1130 ). Various opinion polls showed national support for de Blasio at no more than one percent of voters.

Mayor de Blasio, a member of the Democratic Party, spoke on MSNBC's morning news talk show  when he made the announcement: "I feel like I have contributed all I can to this primary election, and it’s clearly not my time, so 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 joined the presidential race in May. His progressive campaign platform failed to resonate with voters. Polling averages measured by showed support at less than one percent and a recent poll by  rounded his number to zero percent, even in his native New York City. He did not qualify to participate in further Democratic debates after the first two.

Incumbent President Donald Trump quickly took a parting shot on Twitter: "Oh no, really big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years! Part time Mayor of New York City, [Bill de Blasio], who was polling at a solid ZERO but had tremendous room for growth, has shocking[ly] dropped out of the Presidential race."

Fellow Democrats were more supportive in their comments: "Thank you [Bill de Blasio] for making working families the center of your campaign. This is our moment to fight for an America that works for all of us — not just the people at the top. Let's keep fighting", wrote Elizabeth Warren on Twitter. Bernie Sanders wrote, "Congratulations to [Bill de Blasio] on running a campaign to lift up working people and push for bold solutions we need, including making health care a right through Medicare for All."

Both Warren and Sanders remain &mdash; along with several others &mdash; in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.