Bill De Blasio Enters Race for the White House

Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that he is entering the crowded 2020 field for president.

“Doesn’t matter if you live in a city or a rural area, a big state, small state. Doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is. People in every part of this country felt stuck or even like they’re going backwards,” he said in the video announcing his bid.

He said he’ll be running on the platform of “working families first,” and mentioned paid sick leave as well as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

De Blasio, 58, assumed office in 2014 and has become known for his progressive statements and policies. He has repeatedly said the “money in this country” is “in the wrong hands.”

The mayor has been quietly tapping into City Hall staffers with national political experience. That includes Mike Casca, who became spokesman and communications strategist of de Blasio’s federal political action committee in April, reported The New York Daily News. Casca worked on Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, reported Politico.

De Blasio also handpicked experienced City Hall employees Jon Paul Lupo and Jaclyn Rothenberg in February to help with his campaign with their travel paid by his Fairness PAC. Rothenberg’s Twitter touts her experience working for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, nearly 20 major candidates announced they’re running for president in 2020, with more waiting in the wings for the right time to launch a formal campaign.