Former NYC Mayor de Blasio says won't run for New York governor

Progressive Democrat drops potential bid with Gov. Kathy Hochul showing strong primary poll numbers

Published: January 18, 2022 9:55am

Updated: January 18, 2022 10:22am

Former New York City Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he will not run for governor in 2022.

"I'm not going to be running for governor of New York state," he said in an online video. "But I'm going to devote every fiber of my being to fighting inequality in the state of New York."

In the video, the progressive Democrat, who left his mayor's post in December because of term limits, touted his governing record (including the infamous dropped groundhog incident.)

De Blasio had formed an exploratory candidate committee in the fall. He also said in the video that he would "share some more news with you in the days ahead," alluding to a different kind of political future.

At present, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is polling way out front in the Democratic primary for governor. In recent weeks, New York Attorney General Letitia James dropped her potential bid for Hochul's job to run for another term in her current position, putting Hochul 30 points ahead of her nearest competitor.