Bill de Blasio has a new policy analyst on his campaign team — his son


Democratic presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is still struggling mightily in the polls, even after what many considered to be a surprisingly adequate primary debate performance. Now, the mayor is turning to his family to help give him the boost he needs.
De Blasio's son Dante is officially joining his father's campaign, The New York Times reported on Friday. This isn't some stunt, either. The younger de Blasio, who just graduated from Yale University with a degree in political science, will get paid for his work as a policy analyst and report to his father's campaign manager, Jon Paul Lupo.
Say what you will about nepotism, but it does appear that Dante is well-equipped to work on a campaign, what with his academic background, op-ed writing history, and personal experience in the political realm — even if his father isn't the most beloved figure in New York City, it's still a high-profile job. He has even earned some credit for giving some life to his dad's "middling" mayoral campaign when he appeared in an advertisement at age 15. "We've been through elections before as a family, and we know how difficult they can be," Dante said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Who knows if the younger de Blasio will make any difference this time around, but so long as he and his father stay away from the staged text messaging route, it probably won't hurt. Anyway, there's nowhere to go but up. Read more at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday