Bill de Blasio reportedly has his eyes set on the old job of his nemesis Andrew Cuomo.
Sources tell the New York Times that the mayor has spoken to donors and members of his party and he has informed them of his intention to jump into the governor’s race in 2022. This wouldn’t be de Blasio’s first attempt at running for higher office: He was one of nearly 30 candidates that ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. The mayor announced his bid in May 2019 and ended it four months later.
During a press availability Wednesday morning, de Blasio did not deny the reports that he’s interested in being governor, saying he’s “talked to a number of people” about continuing in public service.
“Look, I’m not gonna make any political announcements. I’m only making a broad point. For the last year and a half, I’ve had to lead the nation’s largest city through the COVID crisis. I’m very proud of what the people of this city have done. I’m very proud of what this city government has done to fight back COVID and move us forward,” de Blasio said.
“I’ve got a lot to offer,” he said. “I want to do more in public service. How that’s going to play out, there’s time to figure out. But that’s my goal.”
If and when de Blasio decides to jump into the gubernatorial race, he will be joining an ever-growing field. Governor Kathy Hochul has already announced her intent to run for a full term. Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate, last week told Intelligencer that he is strongly considering a bid, later announcing that he has formed an exploratory committee. Letitia James, the state attorney general is said to be mulling a run, but has yet to state her plans publicly.
On the Republican side, Congressman Lee Zeldin and Andrew Giuliani, the son of former mayor Rudy Giuliani, declared their candidacies months earlier when it wasn’t clear if Cuomo would be the de facto Democratic candidate. The former governor ultimately resigned with his chances of running for a fourth term very unlikely.
