Former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced his run for Congress in the newly drawn 10th Congressional District.
Mr. de Blasio, whose far-left Democratic politics won him two terms as mayor but failed to advance his quests for governor and president, said voters beckon for him in the New York City district.
“Wherever I go, people ask: can things get better? I say from my heart: YES, but WE have to make them better. In our neighborhoods and our nation, the way to save our democracy is to be part of it. So as I declare my candidacy in #NY10 I ask you to join us,” Mr. DeBlasio tweeted Friday.
The new district is part of a region that Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, holds but announced he would vacate after most of his district was re-drawn by a court-appointed special master. The newly proposed map placed him in the same Manhattan district as fellow longtime Democrat Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
Mr. de Blasio glimpsed his campaign platform when announcing an exploratory committee for his congressional run. “Our neighborhoods need help as we recover from Covid. Our nation needs help as democracy is threatened and working people struggle,” he said on Twitter.
The preliminary map was released by special master Jonathan Cervas on Monday, and a finalized map is expected on Friday.
Mr. de Blasio served two terms as mayor of the city between 2014 and 2021 and held the office of New York City Public Advocate before that. In 2019, he launched a failed bid to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, dropping out of the race before Iowa held the first contest in February 2020.
Mr. de Blasio left office with low poll numbers and city residents largely blamed him for the skyrocketing crime rate. That did not stop him from exploring a potential run for governor, which he later scrapped.
He had been eyeing various congressional races when the new map presented him with an open-seat race in a heavily Democratic district.
Other New York Democrats are also interested in the 10th Congressional District.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman told The City he will run in the Democratic primary if the lines remain intact after the map is finalized.
Lower East Side City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, is reportedly considering a run in the primary for the seat as well as, Assemblymembers Robert Carroll and Yuh-Line Niou.
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. deBlasio but did not immediately hear back.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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