NEW YORK (AP) – New York Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that he was closing his reelection campaign.
In a video released on social media, Adams proudly spoke about his achievements as mayor, including reducing violent crime. However, he said “continuous media speculations” about his future and the decision of the city’s election finance committee to withhold public funds from his reelection efforts made it impossible to stay in the race.
“Despite everything we have achieved, we cannot continue our reelection campaign,” Adams said.
The one Democrat’s decision to quit the race comes just days after he repeatedly insisted that he would stay in the contest, saying that he would not “sacknowledge.”
However, speculation that he would not win it on Election Day was ramped for a year. Adams’ campaign was seriously injured by him Federal bribery cases now open and liberal anger over his warm relationship with President Donald Trump. He skipped the Democratic primary and voted on the vote as an independent.
Adams will not grant approval for dropping out
In the video, Adams did not directly mention or support the remaining candidates in the race, but he used local governments to “advance a divisive agenda” to warn of “insidious forces.”
“Big changes are welcome and necessary, but beware of those who insist on answers (IS) to destroy the very systems we have built across generations,” he said. “It’s not a change. It’s a confusion. Instead, I encourage leaders to choose their leaders by what they offer, not what they promise.
Adams’ surrender could potentially provide a lift to the campaign of fellow centralist Andrew Cuomo, who portrayed himself as the only candidate who could defeat Democratic candidate, state legislative member Zoran Mamdani.
However, it was unclear whether enough Adams supporters would transfer loyalty to Kaomo to make a difference.
Mamdani, at age 33, would become the youngest and most liberal mayor of his generation if elected. Decisive defeat of Cuomo in the Democratic primary Try reducing your cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities by campaigning for your promises.
Republican Curtis Swawa also remains in the race, but his candidacy is undercut from within his own party. In a recent interview, Trump called him “not exactly prime time.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, WHO Approved mam ticksAfter the mayor’s announcement, she is proud to have worked with Adams for the past four years, and said he will leave the city “better than he will inherit it.”
A rough show in the poll
A poll conducted in early September shows Adams’ challenges. One poll by the New York Times and Siena University, and the other by Quinnipiac University, showed voters who support Mamdani over Cuomo, and Sriwa and Adams take over the back.
A Kinipiac poll suggested that if Adams drops out, the gap between Mamdani and Cuomo could be narrowed. A Times/Siena poll suggested that Mamdani’s advantages could be further reduced over Cuomo if both Adams and Sliwa retreated.
However, Sliwa has repeatedly insisted that he will not stop under any circumstances.
In recent weeks, Trump administration brokers have approached Adams to see if intermediaries interested in blocking Mamdani’s path to victory in a one-on-one matchup with Cuomo can unite from the contest with government work offers.
In his report on these debates, Adams called for a press conference where he continued running and vowed to have deceived Cuomo and Mamdani as “spoiled brats.” Adams then went further on social media, calling Cuomo “liars and snakes.”
The charges will proceed
Adams, 65, is the city’s second black mayor. The former New York City Police Captain and Brooklyn Borough President took office in 2022 and has pledged to crack down on crime and revitalize the city with his signature “sw walk” recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
He succeeded due to his signature issue. It is not unclear how much the crime rates that were etched upwards after Covid-19 hit cities have had to do with Adams’ policies.
But the focus on Adams’ reduction in crime and obstacles has been overshadowed multiple times by swirling scandals, corrupt probes and lawsuits claiming ramp-prolonged support at the highest level of city government.
Over the long term last year, his police chief, school prime minister and several deputy mayors resigned after a series of federal attacks on his home. No one is facing criminal charges.
Then in late September, federal prosecutors said they had brought fraud and bribery charges against Adams himself, accepting illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and others, including the opening of a Turkish diplomatic building, and sudden travel discounts.
Trump intervenes
Adams denied the misconduct and promised to take office when he fought the case in court. But he also began to speak warmly about Trump. He defended Trump in a media briefing, urging his own party to ease rhetoric towards the Republican Party, refrained from criticizing him, and heavily stopped fostering the campaign of Trump’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.
After Trump won, Adams met with Trump’s border emperor Thomas Homan and pledged the city’s cooperation with several aspects of the new administration’s immigration crackdown.
Then, in February, Trump’s Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in New York to withdraw the charges against Adams, allowing the mayor to support the Republican president’s immigration agenda.
The extraordinary intervention sparked new uproars at City Hall and at the Manhattan US law firm.
Adams announced he would skip the Democratic primary in June but would remain in the race.
Summer doesn’t provide you with a grace
Since returning to the campaign path this summer, Adams has often described himself as “completely incomplete,” but has found himself surrounded by scandal once again.
In late August, his former top advisor was volunteering for the campaign – was hit with fresh bribery charges. Another former aide was removed from the campaign after handing a local reporter a potato chip bag full of cash.
In the final weeks of his campaign, he had rejected the appeal to Cuomo to give him a better shot that beat Mamdani.
“When I lose the political spotlight 15 years from now, 10 years from now, history will be kind to me. “That’s what I’m fighting for.”
