De Blasio launches bid for New York House seat

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced on Friday that he is running for Congress.

“The polls shows people are hurting. They need help. They need help fast, and they need leaders who can actually get them help now and know how to do it. I do know how to do it from years of serving the people of this city,” de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“And so today I’m declaring my candidacy for Congress in the 10th Congressional District of New York.”

It remains to be seen who de Blasio will square off with to win the Democratic nomination. The 10th District is currently represented by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D), though a new proposed draft of the state’s congressional districts released on Monday has complicated several House races for Democrats.

Nadler and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) have both said they will run for the state’s 12th Congressional District, while Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D), the chairman of the party’s campaign arm, said that he would run in the state’s 17th District, which is currently represented by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D).

Maloney’s home would be included in the newly redrawn 17th District.

Jones’s home, meanwhile, would be drawn into the 16th District, which is currently held by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D). That would set up a showdown between two members of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

It is not immediately clear which district Jones will run in, and the maps still need to be finalized. Bowman said he will be running in the 16th Congressional District. 

New York’s congressional primaries are set for Aug. 23.

Updated at 10:17 a.m.