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New York Mayor Eric Adams while abandoning his reelection bid said the campaign finance board’s decision to withhold funding hurt his bid to mount a fight against Mamdani.
New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani (L) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams attend the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. (IMAGE: AFP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday he was abandoning his reelection bid and kicked off a three-way race between popular Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo, 67, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, 71.
“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” Adams said in a video statement posted to X on Sunday.
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“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.”
The mayoral election will take place on November 4. Adams had been polling at less than ten percent of the vote.
Adams was facing a slew of corruption allegations and criticized over cooperating with US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Adams also appeared to take a jibe at Mamdani, a self-described socialist who has been fiercely criticized by Trump, in his speech.
He became mayor of the largest US city in 2022, and said in April he would run as an independent, a move that spared him from the competitive Democratic primary won by Mamdani.
In that election, Mamdani also swept past former New York governor Cuomo, who resigned from his post in 2021 over sexual misconduct allegations.
In his statement, Adams issued a veiled criticism of Mamdani, who has zeroed in on the high cost of living by promising regulated rents, free bus travel and daycare to cement his appeal.
“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 said.
Rumors have swirled for weeks that Adams would drop out of the mayoral race to allow space for Cuomo.
There were also reports the Trump administration was considering a job for Adams if he backed out of the election to give Cuomo a better chance of beating Mamdani.
A poll by the Suffolk University CityView released earlier this month showed Mamdani leading Cuomo by 20 percentage points. Cuomo had lost to Mamdani by more than 12 points in the primary election.
Two separate polls, one by The New York Times/Siena University and another by Quinnipiac University, placed Mamdani ahead of Cuomo, with Adams and Sliwa trailing, according to a report by NBC News New York.
The Quinnipiac survey indicated that Cuomo could close the gap if Adams exited the race, while the Times/Siena poll suggested Mamdani’s lead would shrink further if both Adams and Sliwa dropped out.
About the Author
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev…Read More
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev… Read More
New York, United States of America (USA)
September 29, 2025, 18:03 IST
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