Bill de Blasio is going up against Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate , it has been claimed . The Mayor of New York is allegedly entering the race as a 'leftist ' alternative to Clinton in the hopes that this will see him represent the party in the 2016 elections . This claims come in the wake of a television appearance last week , just hours before Clinton announced her candidacy , where de Blasio refused to back her . Scroll down for video . The Mayor of New York is allegedly entering preparing to run for president as a 'leftist ' alternative to Hillary Clinton , according to a source within the Democratic Party . De Blasio 's intentions to throw his hat in the ring as Democrat presidential candidate comes from a 'national party operative ' , according to the New York Post . The mayor 's bid for presidency is backed by the Working Families Party , and he hopes that left-leaning 'progressive activists ' will join them in supporting him over the coming months , the source claims . 'De Blasio and his advisers are trying to position the mayor as the 'draft ' candidate for the left in 2016 . That 's why he refused to endorse Hillary last week , ' the party operative told the Post . The 53-year-old has yet to back Clinton , despite the fact that he was campaign manager of her U.S. Senate bid in 2000 , an indication that the rumours of his intentions to run for president may be true . The New York City mayor , known to be more liberal than Clinton on most issues , surprised many Democrats when he declined to endorse his former boss during an interview last week . Behind her back ? Bill de Blasio has yet to endorse Hillary Clinton as the Democrats ' presidential candidate , despite the fact that he was campaign manager of her U.S. Senate bid in 2000 . The New York City mayor , seen inspecting a Bronx apartment as pary of an affordable housing project , said he will not endorse Clinton until he can 'see an actual vision of where they want to go ' Appearing on Meet The Press , De Blasio said he would withhold his blessing 'until I see an actual vision of where they want to go . ' 'She 's a tremendous public servant , ' the mayor continued . ' I think she is one of the most qualified people to ever run for this office . And by the way , thoroughly vetted , we can say that . But we need to see the substance . ' De Blasio has taken several steps to raise his profile in recent weeks , including making a bid for the 2016 Democratic National Convention , hosting a meeting of liberals at Gracie Mansion this month and traveling to Nebraska and Iowa — site of the first nominating caucus — last week to champion the fight against income inequality . Today , Clinton is scheduled to arrive in New Hampshire as she steps up her campaign for the Democratic nomination . As she did in Iowa last week , Clinton plans to forgo the packed rallies that marked her previous campaign and focus on smaller round-table events with selected groups of supporters .
Bill de Blasio 'wants to be a more liberal alternative to Hillary De Blasio ' New York mayor 's bid is allegedly backed by Working Families Party . Clinton , De Blasio 's former campaign manager , has yet to endorse her .