New York Mayor Eric Adams announced sunday that he is dropping his third-party bid for re-election, narrowing the field for November’s election.
“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign,” Adams said in a video on X. “The constant media speculation about my future and the campaign finance board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign.”
In a nearly nine-minute video, Adams — who enjoyed strong ratings from New Yorkers early in his term but whose standing plummeted after he was indicted on federal corruption charges, which were then dropped by the Trump administration — said he hoped New Yorkers "will see that despite the headlines and the innuendo, I always put you before me."
The question now is how Adams’ move shapes the mayoral race going forward in the nation’s biggest city.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is also running a third-party bid for mayor, said in a statement shared first with NBC News that he believes Adams "is sincere in putting the well-being of New York City ahead of personal ambition."
"We face destructive extremist forces that would devastate our city through incompetence or ignorance, but it is not too late to stop them," said Cuomo, referring to, without naming, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a state legislator.
Cuomo praised Adams, saying he "has much to be proud of in his accomplishments."
"Whatever differences we may have, Eric Adams’ story is undeniably one of resilience — a testament to the spirit of this city," Cuomo said.
Mamdani reacted differently in a social media video in which he framed Adams' mayoralty as a failed "promise to working-class New Yorkers.
"He raised their rents, slowed their buses and cut funding for their schools, libraries and childcare," Mamdani said of Adams. He went on to declare "a new day is coming" because he will "deliver a government every New Yorker could be proud of."
Mamdani also addressed Cuomo directly, arguing that while Cuomo might be happy to with Adams' move to drop out, the feeling would be short-lived.
"Don't forget, you wanted me as your opponent in the primary too, and we beat you by 13 points. Looking forward to doing it again on Nov. 4. Hope you're well," Mamdani added.
Adams’ announcement comes after weeks of speculation that he could exit the race and help consolidate non-Mamdani support behind Cuomo. Mamdani defeated Cuomo in the June Democratic primary.
However, Adams’ name will still be on ballots this fall, since he exited the race after a deadline to print them. And the limited public polling on the possibility of Adams’ dropping out showed Cuomo benefiting but a critical mass of voters also still siding with Republican nominee Curtis sliwa. Those polls suggest that Cuomo's best shot at defeating Mamdani comes in a one-on-one race.
Adams has not been a major factor in the race for some time. The public polls have shown him running in a distant fourth place, with Mamdani staked to a double-digit lead ahead of Cuomo and then sliwa, with Adams further behind.
Adams urged his successor 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 through investments in policing, mental health, substance abuse care, homelessness services and community-based initiatives."
Adams did not make an endorsement in the video, but he did appear to take a swipe at Mamdani, arguing that "extremism is growing in our politics."
"Too often, insidious forces use local government to advance divisive agendas with little regard for how it hurts everyday New Yorkers," he said. "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."
Adams’ decision is a full reversal from his position just days ago, when he declared on X that he was “not going anywhere.”
“All of the noise, all of the rumors — none of that matters,” he said in the post.
But Adams laid out a rationale for dropping out saturday in an interview on MsNBC, in which he accused the media of sandbagging his campaign and lamented what he called “bogus” corruption charges against him. During a sunday morning local radio appearance hours before he dropped out, Adams focused exclusively on touting his administration’s achievements on issues like sanitation.
In an interview on "The Breakfast Club" that aired Thursday, he suggested that reports he was considering dropping out or being offered other positions hurt his fundraising efforts.
“I answered that 101 times,” Adams said when he was asked whether he would drop out.
“Our goal is to finish this race,” he added later, noting that he believed he had to win a court battle over campaign funds.
President Donald Trump told reporters this month he would like to see two candidates in the crowded election leave the race to boost the chances of defeating Mamdani, a progressive who trounced Cuomo in the Democratic primary in June.
“I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one-on-ne,” Trump said at a White House dinner in early september. “I think that’s a race that could be won.”
“I don’t think you can win unless you have one-on-one, because somehow he’s gotten a little bit of a lead,” Trump added. “I don’t like to see a communist become mayor, I will tell you that.”
Adams was elected as a Democrat in 2021. But he decided this year to seek re-election as an independent, amid cratering poll numbers in his party in the aftermath of his federal indictment and then the move by Trump’s Justice Department to drop the charges, arguing that it needed Adams’ cooperation on the president’s immigration and deportation agenda.
Adams was indicted in september 2024 on federal charges, including bribery and campaign finance violations. The Justice Department alleged that he “used his prominent positions in New York City government to obtain illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel.”
The New York Post first reported Adams’ announcement.
