Bill de Blasio Drops Out of Democratic Presidential Contest

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City who entered the presidential race on the premise that his brand of urban progressive leadership could appeal on a national scale, said on Friday that he was ending his candidacy.

Mr. de Blasio’s announcement came shortly after he failed to qualify for the fourth Democratic debate later this month, cementing the notion that he lacked the support and funds to sustain his bid.

Mr. de Blasio focused his campaign on improving the lives of “working people,” proposing a “workers’ Bill of Rights” to guarantee Americans paid time off and medical leave, and then vowed to “tax the hell” out of the wealthy to pay for it.

He attempted to position himself as the most suitable Democrat to take on President Trump, given his familiarity with Mr. Trump as a real estate magnate in New York. Mr. de Blasio branded the president as “Con Don,” and highlighted how he had already fought the Trump administration on everything from climate change to immigration.

None of it worked.

Mr. de Blasio’s campaign was seen as a quixotic, 100-to-1 shot from its inception and it never gained traction, not even in New York. Fliers appeared at Mr. de Blasio’s gym in Park Slope, Brooklyn, urging him not to run (and to wipe the gym equipment after he finished using it).

A recent poll by Siena College of registered New York State Democrats found that less than 1 percent favored the mayor as the Democratic nominee.

He reported raising only $1.1 million during his first campaign finance filing, and much of that money came from the sole city union supporting him, which, like other of Mr. de Blasio’s donors, had or could have business before the city.

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