New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday he is ending his re-election bid, a move intended to strengthen efforts to defeat Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who holds a polling lead but faces deep resistance from moderates and Jewish voters.
In a video statement, Adams said his campaign was no longer viable after the city’s Campaign Finance Board withheld matching funds and relentless speculation about his future undermined fundraising. “Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign,” he said.
Adams’s departure reshapes a crowded field. A Quinnipiac University poll earlier this month showed Mamdani ahead with 45 percent, followed by former governor Andrew Cuomo at 23 percent, Republican Curtis Sliwa at 15 percent, and Adams at 12 percent. Without Adams, Mamdani’s margin narrows but remains significant at 46 percent to Cuomo’s 30 percent and Sliwa’s 17 percent.
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Cuomo, seeking to unite opposition to Mamdani, praised Adams for stepping aside, saying he was “putting the well-being of New York City ahead of personal ambition.”
Mamdani, a state legislator from Queens, has drawn sharp criticism for his record on Israel and his ties to anti-Israel activism. He founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine during his college years, backs the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, and has described Israel’s war in Gaza as “genocide.” He initially defended the slogan “globalize the intifada,” widely seen as a call for violence, before later discouraging its use.
According to the Quinnipiac poll, 75 percent of Jewish voters view Mamdani unfavorably. Critics say his rhetoric has fueled antisemitism and deepened divisions, raising questions about whether he could govern a city as diverse as New York.
Adams’s withdrawal now clears the way for voters opposed to Mamdani’s agenda to coalesce around a single challenger in November.