Bill de Blasio may end 2020 campaign if he doesn’t make October debate

Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio has marked Oct. 1 as the potential expiration date for his long-shot White House bid.

The New York City mayor said Wednesday during a news conference it would be “tough to conceive” continuing his bid if he fails to make the debate stage in October.

“I think the logical thing to say is I’m going to go and try and make the October debates and if I can, that’s a good reason to keep going forward. If I can’t, I think it’s really tough to conceive of continuing,” he said, The New York Times reported.

Mr. de Blasio entered the 2020 presidential race on May 16 with an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which multiple groups including a police advocacy group and Black Lives Matter protested. That same month, Mr. de Blasio reportedly only worked for seven hours on New York City-related matters. 

Since then, the mayor has struggled to break out in the crowded Democratic field. He’s consistently polled at 0% to 1% and failed to qualify for the September debate in Houston.

“I’m a human being, I have eyes to see,” he said. “Not making September, of course, that’s disappointing. And so, my view was, there’s still one good chance to do that. I’m going to see what I can do there and see if I can break through.”

That “good chance” is getting slimmer by the day, as campaign filings show Mr. de Blasio has only 6,600 of the 130,000 unique donors needed to make the debate stage.

A fellow New York candidate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, raised more money than Mr. de Blasio but ended her campaign late last month after she didn’t qualify for the September debates, either.

“It’s important to know when it’s not your time,” Ms. Gillibrand said in a video announcing her departure.

However, the mayor said Wednesday there’s still time to make up ground.

“People go from unheard-of to totally famous in 72 hours in America now,” Mr. de Blasio said. “A candidate like me who is not that well-known yet, ask me in 72 hours, right, and something might change.”