Report: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio To Enter 2020 Presidential Race Next Week
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly will enter the already crowded Democratic presidential primary field as early as next week.
The New York Daily News reported the mayor’s announcement will happen next week, “according to four sources with knowledge of the plans.”
De Blasio could use the occasion of his 58th birthday on May 8 to enter the race, two sources said.
“De Blasio’s federal political action committee, Fairness PAC, recently polled Iowa voters. The PAC also bankrolled the mayor’s recent travel to key early voting primary states, including trips to Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,” according to The Daily News.
At a news conference on Thursday, the mayor demurred when asked about a potential presidential bid, only saying he would be making his decision this month, the New York Post reported.
However, “a source with knowledge of his planning” told The Post the mayor is definitely going to run and will likely announce his candidacy next week.
De Blasio is said to have wanted to put some distance between his announcement and that of former Vice President Joe Biden, who declared he was running late last week.
“May is a busy month for the mayor,” The Post reported. In addition to turning 58, “he celebrates his 25th wedding anniversary with wife Chirlane McCray on May 14, and his son Dante graduates from Yale University on May 20.”
The mayor expressed confidence on Thursday if he entered the race he would be able to top the approximately 20 other Democrat contenders vying for the nomination.
“I have never run for anything without intending to win,” he said.
De Blasio is a strong proponent of taking aggressive measures to address climate change.
On Earth Day last week, he announced the New York City Green New Deal.
“We are not waiting on Washington, D.C., because that would be to our peril,” he said.
The mayor pledged to move NYC to only using electricity generated from renewable sources within the next five years, saying it is a “necessary plan” in order to fight global warming.
The battle against global warming will be won or lost in our lifetime — and this city doesn’t back down from a fight. #GreenNewDeal pic.twitter.com/Vem1Dus3bs
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 27, 2019
In January, De Blasio also announced a plan to expand health care coverage to those who are currently uninsured, USA Today reported.
The mayor said the plan will be available to an estimated 300,000 New York residents living in the country illegally.
De Blasio asked self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to swear him in for his second term as mayor in January.
The mayor employed some Sanders-like rhetoric in his inaugural address, taking some veiled swipes at President Donald Trump.
“We know the overt and gleeful prejudice that is suddenly in vogue spits in the face of all that has made our city great,” de Blasio said.
“And we will not be passive in the face of regression. We will not ignore or deny the threat. We will confront it head-on. To do anything less would be an affront to our very identity as New Yorkers.”
The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Biden enjoying a post-announcement bounce in the Democratic primary field.
He is currently in the lead with 35 percent support, followed by Sanders at 17 percent, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at approximately 9 percent.
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