New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to members of the media outside the Grace Agard-Harewood Older Adult Club in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., Sept. 15, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday that he is suspending his bid for re-election.
His announcement could give a boost to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the high-profile race against the Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, but much depends on how many of Adams’ supporters will ultimately back him.
President Donald Trump has suggested that Adams and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, should both drop out of the race to clear the way for a one-on-one match-up between Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Mamdani.
“I would say that Cuomo might have a chance of winning if it was a one-on-one,” said Trump, who has called Mamdani a “communist.”
The Trump administration was reportedly considering a plan to nominate Adams as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia to get him to drop out, according to The New York Times.
Polling has consistently placed Adams in the single digits. His favorability among New Yorkers has fallen precipitously since being criminally indicted on federal corruption charges.
The federal corruption charges were dropped against Adams in April, after the Trump Justice Department moved to dismiss them.
Adams’ decision to suspend his campaign could put heightened pressure on Sliwa to do the same.
Polling suggests that Mamdani could still have an edge over Cuomo if Adams dropped out, but Sliwa stayed in the race.
Sliwa as recently as last week, however, said that he was planning to stay in the race, despite facing increasing pressure from wealthy New Yorkers to suspend his bid.
“Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate who can defeat Mamdani,” Sliwa’s campaign Daniel Kurzyna spokesperson said in a statement after Adams’ announcement.
Mamdani, following Adams’ decision, said that Trump and “his billionaire donors might be able to determine Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo’s actions but they will not dictate the results of this election,” according to a statement.
In his video announcing his decision, Adams said that “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.”
“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign,” Adams said in the video.
Adams will be the first one-time mayor of New York City since David Dinkins.
