Eric Adams drops out of New York City mayoral race

With Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” playing in the background and a photo of his late mother at his side, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced in a video on Sunday that he is dropping out of the mayoral race.The announcement comes as Adams’ chances at reelection were looking dim. The Brooklyn Democrat was running as an independent in the general election after opting out of the Democratic primary in June. In recent polls for November’s general election, Adams had failed to break out of a distant fourth place, behind front-runner and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is running as an independent and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. 

“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” Adams said in the video, which appeared to be filmed at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence. He blamed “the constant media speculation about my future and the Campaign Finance Board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars,” referring to the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s denial of public matching funds. By dropping out, Adams will officially be the first one-term mayor since the late David Dinkins, who was the city’s first Black mayor.

Adams’ popularity has plummeted over the course of his nearly four years in office, while his administration has been beset by high-level departures and corruption scandals. Adams himself became the first sitting mayor to be criminally indicted just over one year ago.

In his announcement video, Adams also touted his successes while in office, naming, among them, driving down violent crime, building new housing and raising test scores. “I urge New Yorkers to choose leaders not by what they promise, but by what they have delivered,” he said.

For months, rumors and speculation about Adams’ future in the mayoral race have swirled as pressure has mounted amid the non-Mamdani crowd to consolidate the field of candidates. Jim Walden, an independent candidate who had been polling in the low single digits, dropped out in early September. While Sliwa has consistently insisted that he’s not going anywhere, Adams’ rhetoric had softened in recent days, going from defiant denials that he’ll drop out to more muted comments about looking at all his options. Amid all this, close advisers to President Donald Trump and leaders within the powerful business community have discussed offering Adams a job to incentivize him to exit the race. It wouldn’t have been the first time the mayor was aided by the Republican president. One of the factors that propelled Adams’ unpopularity with voters was the five-count federal indictment rolled out against him in September 2024, which Trump’s Department of Justice dismissed in April.

Adams did not endorse any of his former opponents when announcing his exit from the race on Sunday, instead urging New Yorkers to “choose leaders not by what they promised, but by what they have delivered.” That statement could, however, be read as a dig at Mamdani, who has served the Assembly for four years and has faced criticism from both Adams and Cuomo for not having as thorough of a record. In a statement, Mamdani referred to Trump’s reported involvement in trying to narrow the field against him, saying, “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.”

A spokesperson for Sliwa called the Republican nominee “the only candidate who can defeat Mamdani,” showing no hint that he would follow Adams and drop out of the race. “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,” Sliwa spokesperson Daniel Kurzyna said in a statement.

In his own statement, Cuomo echoed a line in Adams’ address that warned of growing “extremism” in politics. “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, before complimenting some of Adams’ achievements.

Having missed the deadline, Adams is going to be on the ballot no matter what. He can do as Walden recently did: endorse Cuomo and try to get the word out to supporters that he’s no longer running, but he’ll likely still get some votes regardless. Given how poorly Adams has been polling (somewhere between 6% and 12% depending on the survey) any transferred support from Adams will unlikely be enough on its own for Cuomo to overtake Mamdani. A big question in the days ahead will be whether Sliwa drops out. He has consistently outperformed Adams in polls by at least several percentage points.

Adams shared the news with some insiders before posting the video. “Mayor Adams informed me earlier today that he would not seek reelection, and I told him I respected his decision, wished him nothing but the best, and said I was honored his last interview before this announcement was with me on PoliticsNation,” Rev. Al Sharpton, a longtime friend, said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

In a statement shared by a reporter on X, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries praised the Adams administration for helping drive down violent crime and build new housing, before adding that he would “publicly weigh in with respect to the remaining candidates” before the start of early voting in late October. Jeffries, along with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, are among the more moderate Democratic leaders who have yet to endorse Mamdani, their party’s nominee.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who endorsed Mamdani in the mayoral race earlier this month, said in a statement posted to X that she is grateful for Adams’ partnership on issues including the City of Yes housing rezoning and getting illegal guns off the street. “He leaves New York City better than he inherited it and that will always be central to his legacy as mayor.”

This is a developing story.