New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced he is ending his bid for re-election, just five weeks before voters go to the polls.
Adams said “constant media speculation” about his future and the city campaign finance board’s decision to deny him public matching funds throttled his campaign.
His withdrawal narrows the race down to Democrat Zohran Mamdani, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Adams, elected in 2022 as a Democrat, was running as an independent after he was indicted for alleged bribery and fraud. The indictment was later dismissed at the direction of the Trump administration.
“I cannot continue my re-election campaign,” Adams said in a video posted on social media on Sunday.
“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.”
Adams has not endorsed any of his rivals in the race. But he did make comments in his withdrawal statement that appeared to be directed at Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner in the race.
“Major change is welcome and necessary, but beware of those who claim the answer to destroy the very system we built together over generations,” he said without naming Mamdani, a self-described socialist. “That is not change, that is chaos.”
Adams warned that “insidious forces” were pushing “divisive agendas” in city politics.
Mamdani himself spoke to MSNBC later on Sunday, saying the city’s inhabitants were “tired” by Adams’ brand of politics, and standing by his “vision for a city that New Yorkers can actually afford”.
A former police officer who was once seen as a rising star in New York politics, Adams’s popularity waned due to corruption allegations, tensions with Democrats over immigration, and frustration with the city’s rising cost of living.
In an indictment last September, Adams was alleged to have accepted gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours. He denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
In April, the justice department ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop the charges. But the controversy continued to haunt Adams as he trailed in the re-election race.
His relationship with the Democrats deteriorated during the Biden administration as he criticised its immigration strategy.
Earlier this year, he said he would run as an independent – a move that spared him from the competitive Democratic primary, which was won by Mamdani.
Adams will serve out the remainder of his term, which ends on 1 January. His name will remain on the ballot because the deadline to change it has passed.
