De Blasio says he may drop out of presidential race if he doesn't make October debate stage

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NYC Mayor De Blasio may end presidential campaign if he doesn't make October debate stage

NYC mayor could end presidential campaign if he doesn't make the debate stage in October.

New York City may be getting its mayor back.

Bill de Blasio said Wednesday he will likely end his long-shot presidential campaign if he doesn’t qualify for the Democrats' October debates.

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

As New York City wrestles with infrastructure problems and economic inequality, among other concerns, his bid for the White House has received much blowback.

Republican State Assemblyman Mike LiPetri called on him to fold up his campaign and resign as mayor of New York City.

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"We actually care about our dignity and it's embarrassing right now for New York state [and] New York City," he said on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday. "[De Blasio's] gone. Homelessness is rampant. Criminals are emboldened. Police are disrespected."

"It's frankly a smokescreen to distract from the poor job he's doing as mayor," he added. "You say he's campaigning but, at the same time, he's over in Nevada vacationing on the campaign donations he gets. So which one is it really?"

As he has been stuck in the low single digits in the polls, calls for de Blasio to drop out of the race have grown louder.

Last month, some 200 cyclists held a rally to lobby for safer streets after Jose Alzorriz became the 19th cyclist killed in the city this year, the New York Post reported.

“Mr. Mayor, I know you’re running for president,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said at the rally. "Please stop running, come back home.”

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De Blasio qualified for the first two rounds of Democratic presidential debates but did not make the cut for the Sept. 12 debate in New York.

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To qualify for the October debates he would need 130,000 campaign donors and a 2 percent showing in four national polls or statewide polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada by Oct. 1.

Fox News' Tamara Gitt contributed to this report.