New York Mayor Eric Adams ended his independent re-election campaign on Sunday, a dramatic reversal that clears one obstacle for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo but leaves Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani with a commanding lead in the race to lead the nation's largest city.
"Despite all we've achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign," Adams said in a nearly nine-minute video posted on X. He cited relentless media speculation about his political future and a campaign finance board decision to withhold millions in matching funds as reasons he could no longer mount a "serious campaign."
Adams, once a rising star in Democratic politics, entered the race as an independent after federal prosecutors charged him with bribery and campaign finance violations last year - charges later dropped by the Trump administration. The mayor said Sunday he hoped New Yorkers "will see that despite the headlines and the innuendo, I always put you before me."
The decision arrives as public polling had Adams in single digits, running a distant fourth behind Mamdani, Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. A Marist poll earlier this month put him at just 9%, with Mamdani leading Cuomo by roughly 20 points. "It gives Cuomo a boost - but it's not enough," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion. "There just aren't enough Adams voters out there to go somewhere new."
Cuomo, running a third-party campaign, praised Adams' decision. "We face destructive extremist forces that would devastate our city through incompetence or ignorance, but it is not too late to stop them," Cuomo said, warning against Mamdani without naming him. He added that Adams' story "is undeniably one of resilience - a testament to the spirit of this city."
Mamdani reacted differently, framing Adams' tenure as a failure. "He raised their rents, slowed their buses and cut funding for their schools, libraries and childcare," Mamdani said. Declaring "a new day is coming," he vowed to "deliver a government every New Yorker could be proud of."
Adams did not endorse a successor but urged whoever wins to "continue the work we started, lowering the cost of living, investing in quality of life and staying laser-focused on reducing crime and disorder." He also warned against "insidious forces" using local government to advance divisive agendas, saying, "That is not change; that is chaos."
