Eric Adams quit his reelection bid Saturday, ending his campaign for New York City mayor as he trailed badly in polls behind socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The embattled mayor announced his withdrawal through a video statement after weeks of mounting pressure from party insiders who feared a split field would hand victory to Mamdani in November.
“It’s been an honor to be your mayor,” Adams said in the announcement. “Although our successes… I know I cannot continue my campaign.” (RELATED: Trump’s Inner Circle Reportedly Spoke To Eric Adams About Admin Role If He Ends Reelection Bid)
Adams sat in fourth place in recent polling, far behind frontrunner Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. His decision comes after President Trump’s Department of Justice dismissed federal corruption charges against him earlier this year.
The mayor faced a five-count indictment last September on bribery and fraud charges. Prosecutors accused him of accepting over $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from foreign nationals seeking influence, including Turkish officials.
“Many are skeptical of me after my historical indictment,” Adams admitted in his video message.
Despite suspending his campaign, Adams will remain on the November 4 ballot alongside fellow dropout Jim Walden. Neither can legally remove their names at this point.
Adams refused to endorse any remaining candidates. He took veiled shots at both Mamdani and Cuomo, warning voters against radical ideologies in local government and candidates who change positions on issues.
“I want to be clear, although this is the end of my campaign, this will not be the end of my public service,” Adams said. “I will keep fighting for our city no matter what because I am a New Yorker.”
The frontrunner in the mayoral race is self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani, who has called for pulling police out of high crime areas. Mamdani denounced the New York Police Department [NYPD], writing, “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety. What we need is to Defund The NYPD.” Mandani also said that “Queer liberation means defund the police.”
Zohran Mamdani has called for emptying jails, because “VioIence is an artificial construct.”
Mamdani has called for having the government run grocery stores, even though such stores lose money, cost taxpayers, and result in increased food waste and reduced choices of food. Mamdani also proposed arbitrary, extreme restrictions on rent that would leave landlords with too little money to maintain housing units, which could turn much of New York into a slum.
Laura Gillen, a House Democrat on Long Island, recently criticized Zohran Mamdani, saying, “Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City. His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs. Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing. He is the absolute wrong choice for New York.”
