New York Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that he is dropping out of his campaign for a second term, throwing the race into a spin just five weeks ahead of Election Day, according to the New York Times.
According to a pair of sources who spoke to the paper, Adams has been exploring exit options to avoid a potentially embarrassing defeat. He was reportedly discussing a potential job in the Trump Administration as an ambassador to Saudi Arabia, but those talks ultimately fell apart, according to the Times.
In a video address posted on Sunday afternoon, Adams blamed media speculation about his campaign and a decision made by the city’s Campaign Finance Board refusing to provide him with matching funds to fuel his campaign as primary motivators for his decision.
In what appears to be veiled swipes at his opponents, Adams advises voters to treat both Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running third party, with suspicion.
Without naming Mamdani, Adams’ remarks warn that the democratic socialist represents “insidious forces” planning to push “radical, divisive agendas” in the city.
“Too often, insidious forces use local government to advance divisive agendas, with little regard for how it hurts everyday New Yorkers. Major change is welcome and necessary — but beware of those who claim the answer is to destroy the very systems we built together over generations. That is not change. That is chaos.” he said.
Mamdani issued his own statement on Sunday, saying New Yorkers deserved better than trading in “one disgraced, corrupt politician for another.”
“Donald Trump and his billionaire donors might be able to determine Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo’s actions but they will not dictate the results of this election. New York deserves better than trading in one disgraced, corrupt politician for another,” he said. “On November 4th, we are going to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas and deliver a government every New Yorker can be proud of.”
Polling has consistently seen Adams in the single digits, making his path to victory unlikely as votes are split between the other candidates.
All major polls put Adams in a distant fourth place, behind Mamdani with 45 percent, Cuomo with 24%, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa with 17 percent, and Adams at 9 percent.
It’s likely that those who would have voted for Adams will instead move towards Cuomo, potentially infusing the disgraced governor’s campaign with energy in the run up to the election.
A report by the New York Post claims that President Donald Trump would only have handed Adams a spot in his administration if Sliwa also dropped out of the race, suggesting the White House was actively trying to shore up votes against Mamdani.
Sliwa’s campaign issued a statement in the wake of Adams’ announcement, insisting that the Republican is the “only candidate” who can stop Mamdani.
“Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate who can defeat Mamdani. Our team, our resources, and our funding are unmatched. Most importantly, we have the best solutions to help working people afford to stay in New York City and feel safe,” Daniel Kurzyna, a spokesperson for the Sliwa For NYC Campaign, said in a statement.
Even with a potential influx of voters into Cuomo’s camp, surpassing Mamdani won’t be easy for the former governor. According to a a survey by The New York Times and Siena University, Mamdani is still expected to have a significant lead over Cuomo even with Adams’ supporters.
Despite dropping out of the race, Adams will still appear on the Election Day ballot as the deadline for withdrawing from the ballot has passed.
The mayor said that while he is suspending his race, he is committed to continuing his “fight for this city.”
“Although this is the end of my reelection campaign, it is not the end of my public service. I will continue to fight for this city — as I have for 40 years, since the day I joined the NYPD to make our streets safer and our systems fairer,” he said. “The quest for justice is far from over. Inequality persists. Innocents still suffer. New Yorkers deserve better every single day, and until the last day of my term, I will fight for just that.”
