New York City Mayor Eric Adams drops reelection bid

By Ahmet Salih Alacaci

WASHINGTON (AA) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced late Friday that he is ending his campaign for a second term, citing mounting financial and political pressures.

"Despite all we've achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign," Adams said in an over-eight-minute video address posted on the US social media platform X. "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."

Reflecting on his four years in office, Adams highlighted what he described as achievements in crime reduction, housing construction, education reform, and lowering costs for working families.

“Although this is the end of my reelection campaign, it is not the end of my public service,” said Adams, a former police captain who was elected mayor in 2021.

His exit leaves the race to Republican hopeful Curtis Sliwa and two Democratic candidates: State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former Mayor Andrew Cuomo.

Mamdani is currently leading the polls with a double-digit lead over Cuomo, his nearest rival. Adams has recently faced calls from the Trump administration to drop out of the race to boost Cuomo’s chances against Mamdani, who the US president has called a "communist" on multiple occasions, a characterization that Mamdani rejects.