Hillary Clinton Won’t Run For New York Mayor, According To A Close Ally

Hillary Clinton will not run for mayor of New York City, according to a close ally. Speculation has mounted in recent days that Clinton was considering returning to politics in her native New York, but a friend of the Clintons told CNN that would not happen.

Neera Tanden, a friend of Hillary Clinton, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Clinton would not seek elected office again. Speaking on State of the Union, Tanden said Clinton wanted to focus on her family and would never run for any election again.

“I think she’s going to figure out ways to help kids and families,” Tanden told Tapper. “That’s been what she’s been focused on her whole life, and a lot of issues that are affecting them, over the next couple of years. But I don’t expect her to ever run for any elected office again.”

Clinton has two young grandchildren from her only daughter, Chelsea, and she has previously said she loves spending time with them. The Clintons welcomed a second grandchild, Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky, in June last year, according to the Telegraph. Clinton is said to take time out of her work schedule to play with her grandchildren. Her first granddaughter, Charlotte, was born in 2014.

“We are overjoyed to be grandparents again with the arrival of our grandson, Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky,” a Clinton statement said at the time. “We are all over the moon as Chelsea and Marc welcome Charlotte’s little brother to the world and grateful for our many blessings.”

Tanden is regarded a close ally and friend of Hillary Clinton and her opinion on Clinton’s future may be reliable. Tanden is the head the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with ties to the Bill and Hillary Clinton. She told CNN Clinton would still work on important issues.

“I don’t expect her to run for this and I don’t expect her to run for other office. I think her job is to…what she’s thinking about right now is how to help those kids and families as she has her whole life,” Tanden said.

There has been much speculation over the past week that Clinton would challenge New York Mayor Bill de Blasio for his job in the upcoming mayoral election. De Blasio is a Democrat, so Clinton would have to campaign against a member of her own party.

De Blasio also managed Clinton’s first Senate campaign in 2000, according to The New York Times. That connection could make it difficult for her to campaign against him. The Clinton team initially declined to comment on claims that Clinton was considering a New York run.

A private poll conducted among New York Democrats indicated that Clinton would win if she ran against de Blasio but any attempt to take the mayor’s office would likely cause divisions in the New York Democratic Party. Clinton would also have to deal with public clashes with President-elect Donald Trump.

Bill and Hillary Clinton do not currently live in New York, but election law would allow them to move to the city by election day. Clinton currently lives in Chappaqua in Westchester County, but this does not necessarily exclude her from running for mayor of New York City.

Clinton’s close ally has denied that she will run for New York mayor or that she will ever run for public office again. Clinton will continue to live in New York and campaign for important issues but her days as an active politician appear to be over. Mayor Bill de Blasio may welcome Clinton’s decision to leave running New York to him. He will not have to face the former Democratic presidential candidate in a primary.

[Featured Image by Seth Wenig/AP Images]