After months of speculation over a possible presidential campaign, the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, has announced his intention to run in the 2020 Democratic primaries.
De Blasio enters late into the race after over 20 candidates have declared, throwing his hat into a historically crowded ring. He hopes to win on his image as a progressive and his record while as mayor.
During his tenure as mayor, de Blasio has sharply reduced controversial stop and frisk police tactics, introduced universal pre-K education, and recently announced a “Green New Deal” for the city. He also previously stated that he would seek to uphold the Paris climate agreement President Trump withdrew from.
However, not everything is rosy for de Blasio. The progressive grass roots he will seek to channel have soured on his performance as head honcho of the Big Apple.
His vocal backing of the failed Amazon deal has led to widespread criticism, while his neglect of issues surrounding housing and the New York City subway have been met with disapproval.
His push to end the current test system in city public schools due to them disproportionately hurting Hispanic and African American students has been widely controversial.
Overall, de Blasio may be facing a tough road ahead. Nationally, he’ll have to break out from the competitive field of candidates. At home, he faces a disapproving populace and dismissive political confidants and allies.
However, given that de Blasio faced similar doubts when he successfully ran for mayor in 2013, perhaps he can call upon the same bag of tricks to propel himself to higher office.
