De Blasio: I make October debate stage or I may drop out

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he will likely end his long-shot presidential campaign if he doesn’t qualify for the October Democratic debates.

De Blasio said Wednesday that if he doesn’t make the October debate stage it will be “tough to conceive” of continuing with his campaign.

De Blasio qualified for the first two rounds of Democratic presidential debates but did not make the cut for the Sept. 12 debate in Houston. In order to qualify for the October debates he would need 130,000 campaign donors and a 2% showing in four national polls or statewide polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada by Oct. 1.

De Blasio said that if he qualifies for the October debates “that’s a good reason to keep going forward.”

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This story has been corrected to show that the Sept. debate will take place in Houston, not New York.