Trying to jump-start his campaign for president, Mayor de Blasio took on the leading Democrat in the race — Joe Biden

 “I think it’s important he acknowledge that it was a mistake, that thousands of lives were harmed and lives were torn apart by that crime bill and the first step is to acknowledge the error,” said de Blasio while campaigning in Las Vegas.

De Blasio said Biden must be held accountable for his support of the 1994 crime bill, which has become a big issue on the campaign trail.

“I want to hear him make clear that he understands it was a mistake and explain what he’s going to do differently going forward,” de Blasio continued.

De Blasio is trying to set himself apart in a very crowded field.

On Sunday, he addressed the Nevada State Education Association, where he said he wanted to take his universal pre-kindergarten initiative nationwide.

“As a candidate for president, that’s one of the things that motivates me the most, there are some things that need to come from our federal government to support all schools systems,” de Blasio said.

When asked how much funding the program would need, de Blasio said, “We need to come up with that dollar figure.”

Multiple times throughout the trip, de Blasio was referred as the governor of New York, rather than the mayor of New York City.

But despite being somewhat unknown out west, some that met him say they want to learn more.

“They seem like nice people, both him and his wife. They came over and introduced themselves to our family so that was really nice,” said one woman.

To be sure, de Blasio has a lot of ground to make up, so one imagines he’ll be spending a lot of time on the ground here in Las Vegas.