NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he is dropping out of the crowded race for the Democratic nomination in a redrawn Congressional district that includes his Brooklyn home.

“It’s clear the people of #NY10 are looking for another option and I respect that,” de Blasio posted on Twitter. “Time for me to leave electoral politics and focus on other ways to serve.”

The announcement came two months after the former mayor joined race for the redrawn 10th Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Other candidates running in the Aug. 23 Democratic primary in the district include Rep. Mondaire Jones, who moved to the area after being redistricted out of the seat he now holds in the suburbs north of New York City, former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who last served in Congress in 1981, and former House impeachment counsel Daniel Goldman.

De Blasio's two terms as mayor of the nation's largest city ended on Dec. 31, 2021.

He considered running for governor of New York but opted not to challenge incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul. He also had a short-lived run for president in 2019.

Recent polling has placed de Blasio near the bottom of the field of around a dozen Democrats seeking to represent the 10th Congressional District.

Rep. Jerry Nadler represents New York's 10th district now but will no longer live in it after redistricting.