Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Tuesday said he will not run for governor this year, ending months of speculation about whether he would challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).
In a video posted on Twitter, de Blasio, who completed his second term as mayor last year, said while he will not wage a campaign, he intends to stay involved in politics in the state.
“No, I am not going to be running for governor in New York State, but I am going to devote every fiber of my being to fight inequality in the state of New York,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to do together. I’m gonna share some more news with you in the days ahead. And let’s keep this fight going because we proved change can happen in New York.”
De Blasio’s announcement solidifies the likely top tier in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Hochul, who took office last year after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned, is running for a full term. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Thomas Suozzi, who represents a district on Long Island, are among her most prominent competitors.
State Attorney General Letitia James was considered to be one of Hochul’s strongest challengers but suspended her campaign in December after just over a month in the race.
It’s unclear how strong of a candidate de Blasio would have been if he had run for governor. Recent polling has shown Hochul with strong leads in the budding primary battle.
De Blasio left office at the end of 2021 with low approval ratings, and several Democrats in the race to replace him as New York City mayor made keeping their distance a priority. However, de Blasio in his video touted several accomplishments, including implementing universal pre-K, expanding affordable housing and instituting police reforms like banning stop-and-frisk.
“We changed things in this town,” he said. “We proved we could do big things.”