Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that he would announce a gubernatorial run “very, very, very soon” and that he could jump into a crowded primary despite substantial polls questioning his possibilities.
For months, de Blasio said nothing to quell “will he or won’t he?” Speculation, submitted documents to lay the groundwork for a campaign, and told supporters he was seriously considering a career, but also declined. flatly answering questions about whether he was really in or when he would decide.
However, De Blasio said Monday in an exit interview on “Morning Joe” from MSNBC, who would hear about a “real, very soon” gubernatorial bid and then said “very, very, very soon”, offering no more clues than that.
The two-term mayor would face an uphill battle in a packed primary that includes Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City ombudsman Jumaane Williams and Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi.
As well as lingering (and often denied) rumors of a return from former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and it could be one of the closest races in America next year.
De Blasio also faces questions about ongoing debts with attorneys and campaign consultants dating back years, and the lingering hangover from his four-month campaign for president in 2019.
A Co / efficient poll in mid-August placed De Blasio 20+ points behind Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James in a three-way primary contest. Another August poll, from Slingshot Strategies, had de Blasio in ninth place in a busiest Democratic primary, with just 3% support.
That same poll asked voters who they could support from a list of 15 candidates and who they couldn’t support at all, and then subtracted one from the other to find a net support score. With -30De Blasio was last and 25 points behind the next worst candidate on the list.
More recently, a Siena poll in early December put de Blasio within 30 points of Hochul in a theoretical primary showdown.
But none of those polls took into account James’ surprising decision to withdraw from the race, which could reshape the contest.
And in any discussion of the mayor’s popularity, his supporters also point to his electoral record. In 2013, polls had then-public defender De Blasio a distant third in the mayoral primaries a month before the vote; went on to win comfortably.
In 2017, amid a federal fundraising investigation, 50% of voters said in a Marist poll that De Blasio had done something illegal or unethical; he was still easily re-elected.
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