New York City Mayor Eric Adams is ending his long-shot reelection bid amid a significant struggle in the polls against his opponents.
In a video posted Sunday on the social platform X, which begins with Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way,” Adams announced his dropping out while touting his accomplishments while in office.
“Whoever follows me at City Hall must continue the work we started: lowering the cost of living, investing in quality of life, and staying laser-focused on reducing crime and disorder through investments in policing, mental health, substance abuse care, homelessness services and community-based initiatives,” he said.
“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 later added.
Adams’s decision comes after significant speculation that he would suspend his independent campaign for a second term after fellow independent candidate Jim Walden ended his campaign earlier this month. The speculation was also fueled by multiple reports that members of President Trump’s orbit had been discussing a position for Adams in the administration to get him out of the race and clear the way for Andrew Cuomo to oppose Zohran Mamdani.
In his message, Adams also issued a warning about growing extremism in politics, without mentioning specifics.
“Our children are being radicalized to hate our city and our country. Political anger is turning into political violence. Too often, insidious forces use local government to advance divisive agendas with little regard with how it hurts every day New Yorkers.”
“Major change is welcome and necessary. But beware of those who claim the answer is to destroy the very system we built together over generations; that is not change, that is chaos,” he added.
Adams also urges New York City voters to choose leaders not by what they promise but by what they have delivered.
The embattled mayor, who faced wide-ranging corruption charges alleging he engaged in bribery and soliciting illegal campaign contributions, tried to salvage his dim reelection prospects by forgoing the Democratic primary and running in the general election. But with consistently poor favorability ratings and many New Yorkers wanting him to resign, his campaign never caught fire.
The end of his campaign should help consolidate opposition to the Democratic nominee Mamdani, a democratic socialist, in the general election. Critics of Mamdani have for months expressed concern that the anti-Mamdani vote would be split among the several other candidates in the race, including Adams, Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
Walden had called for the other candidates to get behind whichever of them appeared to be the strongest against Mamdani in head-to-head polling, but Sliwa, and until now Adams, have been adamant that they would not drop out of the race.
Cuomo, who has been polling in second in the five-person field, has said Walden’s proposal should be considered.
The White House has appeared to take a particular interest in the race as it has proceeded. The New York Times recently reported that Trump advisers have discussed giving Adams and Sliwa jobs in the administration in exchange for them leaving the race and clearing the way for Cuomo.
Other reports have indicated that the job may be a position in the Department of Housing and Urban Development or as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The White House hasn’t commented on the reports, and Adams had publicly indicated he intended to stay in the race, though he had been reported to be privately considering his options.
While Trump and Adams have met in person on multiple occasions, Sliwa has less of a relationship with the president. Sliwa has said he wouldn’t consider accepting a job in the administration and is focused on the campaign.
The Times had earlier reported that Trump and Cuomo had spoken by phone and the president was considering getting involved in the race. Cuomo denied speaking with Trump about the race and has said he doesn’t want Trump involved in his campaign.
Adams already faced some obstacles toward reelection even ahead of his indictment with a weak approval rating and criticism over his handling of issues like housing affordability and an influx of migrants into the city.
But the indictment handed up last year caused Adams to reach rock bottom in the eyes of many of his constituents. The charges made him the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted while in office.
While the charges were eventually dismissed in a controversial extended process that was itself the subject of intense scrutiny, Adams hasn’t much improved his image with New Yorkers since then and didn’t seem to have much chance of reelection with two months left to Election Day.
With Adams out of the race, the race is down to three candidates — Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa. In the overwhelmingly Democratic-heavy city, Mamdani is still the favorite to win the election, and anti-Mamdani opposition could still be split between Cuomo and Sliwa.
Mamdani pointed the finger at Trump and his “billionaire donors” as trying to put pressure on Adams to drop out and boost Cuomo to win.
“New York deserves better than trading in one disgraced, corrupt politician for another. 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,” Mamdani said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Sliwa signaled the Republican candidate’s intention to stay in the race in response to the news of Adams dropping out.
“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,” said campaign spokesperson Daniel Kurzyna.
Cuomo said Adams’s decision isn’t an easy one but is putting New Yorkers’ well-being over his own personal ambitions.
“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.
“Mayor Adams has much to be proud of in his accomplishments. Only in New York can a child raised in a tenement in Bushwick, who once worked as a squeegee boy and a mailroom clerk, rise to become mayor,” he continued. “Whatever differences we may have, Eric Adams’ story is undeniably one of resilience, a testament to the spirit of this city.”
Updated at 2:49 p.m. EDT
