De Blasio Will Decide On White House Run This Month

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio has given himself a deadline. The mayor said Thursday that he will finally decide whether to run for president "in the month of May."

Whenever it comes, de Blasio's decision will end months of speculation about whether he will join the crowded field of Democrats hoping to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020.

The mayor has traveled in recent months to key presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa. He acknowledged that his political action committee is conducting polling in Iowa, which he said will play a role in his decision along with family concerns.

"It’s a personal decision, always, in the end," de Blasio said at an unrelated news conference. "... But it’s natural to take into account other factors."

If he enters the race, de Blasio would be among more than 20 Democrats vying for their party's nomination to take on Trump, whom the mayor has often criticized.

He would be a longshot running alongside national figures such as former vice president Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who appeared at de Blasio's second mayoral inauguration.

Polls have shown little appetite among voters for a de Blasio presidential campaign. No Iowa Democrats picked him as their first or second choice for president in a March Des Moines Register poll. And 76% of New York City voters said he should not seek the White House in a Quinnipiac University poll published last month.

Nevertheless, if the mayor joins the race, he said he would be in it to win it.

"I have never run for anything without intending to win," he said. "And you can look at my track record — I was a underdog in everything I’ve ever been near."

May could be a momentous month for de Blasio. He'll celebrate his 58th birthday on May 8 and his 25th wedding anniversary with first lady Chirlane McCray on May 14.