NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams ended his struggling reelection campaign Sunday, an acknowledgment that he was no longer a credible contender after a year of scandal and political turmoil.
In a video released on social media, Adams spoke proudly of his tenure as mayor. But he said his now-dismissed federal corruption case left voters wary of him, and “constant media speculation” about his future made it impossible to raise enough money to run a serious campaign.
“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” he said.
Adams did not endorse any of the remaining candidates in the race, but he warned of “insidious forces” using local government to “advance divisive agendas.”
“That is not change, that is chaos,” Adams said. “Instead, I urge New Yorkers to choose leaders not by what they promise, but by what they have delivered.”
Adams’ capitulation could potentially provide a lift to the campaign of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a fellow centrist who portrayed himself as the only candidate able to beat the Democratic Party’s nominee, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.
It is unclear, though, whether enough Adams supporters will shift their allegiances to Cuomo to make a difference.
Mamdani, 33, would be the city’s youngest and most liberal mayor in generations if elected. He beat Cuomo decisively in the Democratic primary by campaigning on a promise try to lower the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
In a statement after Adams’ announcement, Mamdani took aim at Cuomo, who is trying to make a political comeback after resigning the governor’s office after being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.
“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.
Cuomo, in a statement on social media, praised Adams for “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,” Cuomo said.
Republican Curtis Sliwa also remains in the race, though his candidacy has been undercut from within his own party; Trump in a recent interview called him “not exactly prime time.”
Speculation that Adams wouldn’t make it to Election Day has been rampant for a year. His campaign was severely wounded by both the bribery case and liberal anger over his warm relationship with President Donald Trump. He skipped the Democratic primary and got on the ballot as an independent.
Polls conducted in early September illustrated his challenges. One poll by The New York Times and Siena University and another by Quinnipiac University showed likely voters favoring Mamdani over Cuomo, with Sliwa and Adams trailing further behind.
The Quinnipiac poll suggested the gap between Mamdani and Cuomo could narrow if Adams dropped out. The Times/Siena poll suggested that if both Adams and Sliwa withdrew, Mamdani’s advantage over Cuomo could shrink even further.
Sliwa, though, has repeatedly insisted he will not quit.
“Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate who can defeat Mamdani,” his spokesperson, Daniel Kurzyna, said Sunday.
In recent weeks, Trump administration intermediaries interested in blocking Mamdani’s path to victory by getting him into a one-on-one matchup with Cuomo had approached Adams to see if he could be coaxed out of the contest with an offer of a government job.
Amid reports on those discussions, Adams called a news conference where he pledged to keep running and derided Cuomo and Mamdani as “spoiled brats.” Later, on social media, Adams called Cuomo “a liar and a snake.”
Adams, 65, is the city’s second Black mayor. A former New York City police captain and Brooklyn borough president, he took office in 2022 promising to crack down on crime and revitalize a city still bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic.
On his signature issue, he succeeded. Crime rates that ticked upward after COVID-19 hit the city have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, though it’s unclear how much that had to do with Adams’ policies.
But scandals and corruption probes have crippled Adams’ chances at another term.
Over a head-spinning period of weeks last year, his police commissioner, schools chancellor and several deputy mayors resigned following a series of federal raids on their homes. None have faced criminal charges.
Then, in late September, federal prosecutors brought fraud and bribery charges accusing Adams of accepting illegal campaign contributions and steep travel discounts from a Turkish official and others, and in exchange later accelerating the opening of Turkey’s diplomatic building, among other favors.
Adams denied wrongdoing and pledged to remain in office. He also began speaking warmly about Trump, then seen as having a growing chance of regaining the White House. He defended Trump in media briefings, urged his party to tone down rhetoric against the Republican and refrained from criticizing him.
After Trump won, Adams met with Trump’s border czar, Thomas Homan.
Then, in February, Trump’s Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop the charges against Adams so the mayor could assist with the Republican president’s immigration agenda.
The extraordinary intervention triggered fresh tumult in City Hall and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, with some of Adams’ closest allies suggesting he had struck a deal with the White House for his freedom.
Adams announced he would skip the June Democratic primary but would stay in the race.
In late August, Adams former top adviser — who served as a campaign volunteer — was hit with fresh bribery charges. Another former aide was removed from the campaign after handing a potato chip bag full of cash to a local reporter.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has endorsed Mamdani, said after Adams’ announcement that she has been proud to have worked with him for the past four years, adding in her statement that he leaves the city “better than he inherited it.”
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Adams said “New Yorkers should choose leaders” by what they have delivered, not “leaders should choose leaders” by what they have delivered.
