Mayor Bill de Blasio has convinced the city's Campaign Finance Board that he faces enough competition in his re-election campaign to qualify for his full complement of public matching funds: $2.6 million. That decision comes despite the fact that neither of other major Democratic candidates — Sal Albanese and Robert Gangi — have raised more than $125,000.

Typically, candidates facing "minimal opposition" qualify for just 25 percent of the matching funds they would get otherwise. But Mayor de Blasio filed a statement of need with the board, arguing that his rivals had received enough media mentions and endorsements by political groups to stage a competitive race.

The Quinnipiac Poll last week showed de Blasio beating his Republican challenger, Nicole Malliotakis, buy 35 percentage points. The other two major Democratic candidates weren't even named in the polling questions.

De Blasio announced on Thursday that he would participate in a public debate before the Sept. 12 primary whether or not his contenders met the Campaign Finance Board's fundraising requirements. The board tweeted that it would be up to the sponsors of the debates decide whether to allow candidates appear if they failed to make the $175,000 threshold.