Bill de Blasio is officially running for Congress
He’s really gonna do it.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday that he is running for Congress in a new district straddling Manhattan and Brooklyn.
“I’m declaring my candidacy for Congress in the 10th Congressional District in New York,” the failed 2020 Democratic presidential candidate told MSNBC Friday morning.
“Polls show people are hurting, they need help, they need help fast, they need leaders that can actually get them help now,” de Blasio added. “I know how to do it from years of serving the people of this city.”
The 61-year-old faces a deep candidate field in the Aug. 23 primary as well as a deep political backlash months after concluding an eight-year mayoral tenure many consider the worst in New York’s history.
“BDB is political creepy. He’s the dude that won’t leave you alone at a party,” lefty activist Charles Khan tweeted Friday.
Friday’s announcement comes two days after the Post reported on de Blasio’s interest in the newly-created district that includes lower Manhattan, parts of Brownstone Brooklyn and Borough Park. He formed an exploratory committee on Wednesday.
Court-appointed special master Jonathan Cervas created the new district after the state’s highest court invalidated the so-called “Hochulmander” approved by Albany Democrats.
Incumbent Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s current district heavily overlaps with the 10th District, but Nadler has chosen to take on fellow Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the new 12th District, which includes Nadler’s longtime power base on the Upper West Side.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) has already announced plans to run in the 10th District, assuming its final lines get approved by a state judge Friday.
“We need strong, decisive leadership in Washington. My legislative record on these issues stands up to anyone,” Hoylman, a five-term senator, told the Post about his record on issues like climate change, voting rights, and abortion.
Other state legislators who have expressed interest in running for the seat include Assembly members Robert Carroll (D-Brooklyn), Jo Anne Simon (D-Brooklyn) and Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan) as well as state Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn).
“It’s a very Bill de Blasio move to announce he’s running on MSNBC, since he’s way more interested in being on national television than he is in talking to actual people who live in the district,” Niou spokesman Max Burns tweeted.
“I’ve heard of candidates running front porch campaigns, but de Blasio may be the first to run an entire campaign from a television studio,” Burns followed up in another tweet.
Former U.S. House impeachment counsel Daniel Goldman is also eying the seat after considering a run for state attorney general months ago, according to the political magazine City & State.
When asked Friday whether he’d endorse his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams said it was news to him that de Blasio had officially announced his candidacy.
“It’s important to see the entire field who’s running. He has not told me he’s running,” said Adams during a Brooklyn event.
“I’m sure we’d have to sit down and have a conversation.”
Ordinary New Yorkers didn’t sound thrilled about the idea of De Blasio on Capitol Hill, either.
“No, no, no,” reacted a 45-year-old Bushwick resident who declined to give her name. “That man ruined New York and now he wants to ruin the damn country. He needs to let it go. Congress doesn’t need him.”
“Why does he think people want him in any type of power?” asked Shannon Banker, 25, of Queens. “No one likes you. Please, he shouldn’t run for anything.”
De Blasio, who has a history of campaign finance scandals, was a prolific fundraiser during his successful campaigns for City Hall, and records show that approximately $800,000 remain in his city campaign war chest.
But transferring any of those funds would likely be very difficult for the former mayor, according to election law expert Sarah Steiner, who expects to represent another candidate in the race.
“He could really screw the pooch if he tries to transfer city money to a federal account,” Steiner told the Post.
Additional reporting by Oumou Fofana
