Former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Runs for Congress

Mayor Bill de Blasio was Mayor of New York City until last November, when his term expired and Eric Adams was voted in to replace him. Now, de Blasio, age 61, has announced that he is running for Congress. Should he win, he would represent the 10th Congressional District of New York, an area that includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. But intense competition and a rocky political history mean that his road to Congress is unlikely to be a smooth one. Here, Election Central takes a closer look at the former NYC mayor’s developing congressional campaign.

The Fight for the Tenth

Up until now, the 10th District has been represented by Democrat Jerry Nadler. But New York’s congressional maps have recently been redrawn. So now, Rep. Nadler will have to battle another Democrat, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, for the 12th District. That leaves the redrawn 10th District open. The new 10th District now includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Because he was mayor of New York City for eight years, de Blasio says he has a unique ability to help the people he would serve in this district.

An Uncertain Reputation

While in office, de Blasio made some major accomplishments, including universal prekindergarten and paid sick leave. But he was not well-liked. Many of his constituents considered him hard to relate to, and he was widely criticized among New Yorkers for his mishandling of the coronavirus crisis. He is also accused of mishandling hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. In 2020, de Blasio entered the field of presidential candidates. But his poor showing in that race (he never polled above one percent) damaged his popularity with New York voters even further. He had also considered a run for governor in 2022 before changing his mind due to low polling numbers. But de Blasio believes that he has run winning campaigns before and can do so again.

Fierce Competition

Despite national name recognition, former Mayor de Blasio is far from being a sure thing, however. New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, and New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera have already announced their candidacy as well. The 10th District includes Chinatown, the oldest and fastest-growing Asian district in the country, which may work to Niou’s advantage. Jones grew up in Section 8 housing as the child of a single mother and yet made his way to Stanford and Harvard. He is the youngest member of the Democratic House leadership team and serves as Co-Chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus. Carlina Rivera also grew up in Section 8 housing with a single mother, who emigrated from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn. While on City Council, she has gained a reputation for fighting for the most vulnerable populations in her district. She has also passed legislation around immigration, criminal justice reform, small business survival, landlord accountability, worker protections, and more.