De Blasio may quit presidential race if he doesn't make October debate

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he fails to qualify for October’s Democratic debate.

“I’m going to go and try to get into the October debates, and if I can, I think that’s a good reason to keep going forward. And if I can’t, I think it’s really tough to conceive of continuing,” de Blasio told reporters Wednesday. “That’s the way I’m looking at it right now.”

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De Blasio has forged ahead with his campaign for the Democratic nomination despite failing to top 1 percent in most polls, and getting shut out of the third round of debates scheduled for next week. Wednesday’s comments were the first time he suggested an end date for a campaign that has struggled to capture attention nationally and continues to be a source of criticism back home.

A fourth debate, set for mid-October, will have the same requirements to qualify as the September debate: candidates must reach 2 percent in four-DNC approved polls and receive donations from 130,000 unique donors. Another New York politician, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, exited the primary stage last week after failing to qualify for the upcoming debate.

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