Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is not running for president in 2020.
The Democrat made the announcement Tuesday evening at a press conference at City Hall in Los Angeles that he will not join what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary field.
“I am so proud to be mayor of this city,” Garcetti said, attributing a large part of his decision to wanting to continue serving as mayor of Los Angeles.
Speculation that Garcetti was weighing a run for the White House has circulated for months, especially after he earned a political victory in striking a deal with the Los Angeles teachers union.
The deal ended a six-day strike that shut down schools and affected more than 600,000 students.
Garcetti said during a press conference last Thursday that his decision to run was put on hold by the teachers strike.
The Democratic mayor did not endorse any specific candidate and said that he has “so many friends in the race,” mentioning Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. Garcetti’s fellow Californian Harris officially kicked off her campaign Sunday at a rally in Oakland. Booker has not yet entered the race.
[Also read: 45 Democrats jostling to challenge Trump in 2020]
