Month: September 2025

Eric Adams will officially be a one-term mayor.

Hizzoner announced on Sunday that he is suspending his independent re-election campaign. The campaign had seemingly slowed to a crawl in recent days after being repeatedly denied public campaign financing and polling in last place for weeks in the four-way race. 

“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign,” Adams said, blaming bad press and an inability to gain public campaign matching funds for paralyzing his campaign.

“The constant media speculation about my future and the CFB decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign. I hope that over time, New Yorkers will see the city thrive under our leadership, and policies that we have put in place should be continued and expanded.” 

In an 8-minute video posted on his campaign’s X (Twitter) account, Adams announced he was dropping out while sitting on a Gracie Mansion stairwell next to an enlarged portrait of his late mother. 

“It has been my honor to be your mayor, and I’m proud to say that we took that victory four years ago and turned it into action, making this city better by those who have been failed by government,” the mayor said, touting his accomplishments in building more housing “in one term than any administration before us,” driving crime down to record-lows in shootings and murders, and a post-pandemic economic recovery.

The bombshell announcement changes the complexion of the NYC mayoral race, effectively making it a three-person contest between Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Polls have had Mamdani ahead, but without majority support among voters.

He did not endorse any of the three remaining candidates, but expressed hope that “whoever follows me at City Hall continues the work we started” in reducing crime, improving both affordability and the quality of life.

Adams also expressed a warning about extremism “growing in our politics” and seemed to take a swipe at Mamdani, without naming him, over his many promises made on the campaign trail to instill major change in city government.

“Major change is welcome and necessary, but beware of those who claim the answer is to destroy the very system that we’ve built together over generations. That is not change; that is chaos,” the mayor said. “Instead, I urge New Yorkers to choose leaders not by what they promise, but by what they deliver.”

With Adams now out of the picture, Cuomo has the opportunity to consolidate support and gain ground on Mamdani — as both Adams and Cuomo had largely courted moderate and independent voters. But with Sliwa still in the race, recent polls suggest the impact on the final outcome of the contest could be minimal. 

The tremors of this political earthquake began earlier this month when The New York Times first reported that the Trump administration had approached both Adams and Sliwa with job offers to get both candidates out of the race. It seemed to reflect the president’s wishes for the mayoral race; Trump said he preferred the contest to be “a one-on-one contest” between Mamdani, whom he disparaged as a “communist,” and another competitor.

Adams repeatedly denied those reports; at a hastily-called press conference at Gracie Mansion on Sept. 5, the mayor insisted he would stay in the race to the very end, charging that he was the only one in the field who could beat Mamdani. 

The president’s advisers reportedly also offered Sliwa a job, but the Republican nominee has said he was not contacted by the White House and would not take a post in the administration if offered one.

Mamdani, meanwhile, has charged that Cuomo has been actively working with the president to better his position in the race. Cuomo denied the accusations and, on Thursday, said he did not want Trump’s help — but that Adams’ and Sliwa’s decision to remain in the race was ultimately up to each candidate.

Adams’ announcement ends a campaign that began in the summer after the incumbent mayor stayed out of the Democratic primary. His popularity tanked in recent months following a corruption indictment a year and two days ago that the Trump Justice Department had dropped earlier this year under dubious circumstances. 

In most polls, Adams had been lagging far behind Mamdani, and even behind Sliwa, gaining in some cases only single-digit support from voters.

Adams was the second Black mayor of New York City when he took office in 2022. Like the first Black mayor, David Dinkins, his time at Gracie Mansion will be confined to just one four-year term.

“I know many New Yorkers have yet to feel the full impact of these historic achievements,” Adams said. “But trust me when I tell you, what we’ve started will continue to reach every community in this city. It is not always easy to see the impact of good policy in just three years.”

Though Adams is now out of the race, his name will remain on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election, as the deadline for removing names has since passed.

This is a developing story; check with amNY.com for further updates.