Exclusive | Eric Adams drops out of NYC mayoral race amid increasing pressure: ‘I know I cannot continue my campaign’
Adams — who repeatedly vowed to stay in the race despite being in a distant fourth place in the polls — dropping out now gives Cuomo a boost against his socialist rival.
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Eric Adams drops out of NYC mayoral race amid increasing pressure: ‘I know I cannot continue my campaign’
ByCraig McCarthy and
Matt Troutman
Published Sep. 28, 2025, 1:00 p.m. ET
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Mayor Eric Adams is dropping out of New York City’s mayoral race amid escalating pressure to clear the crowded field in a last-ditch attempt to stop socialist Zohran Mamdani’s election to City Hall.
The bombshell move comes after weeks of back-and-forth over whether Adams would bow out of the race, in which he is polling fourth, far behind frontrunner Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and also, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
“It’s been an honor to be your mayor,” Adams said in a video announcement, according to a transcript obtained by The Post, touting his victories over his first term — which include bringing crime down, building housing and dealing with the city’s brutal migrant crisis.
“Although our successes… I know I cannot continue my campaign,” he says in the video.
“I strongly encourage who ever takes over City Hall to continue what we’ve done.”
Adams did not endorse any of the other candidates, and even took subtle swipes at Mamdani and Cuomo — issuing a warning about local government being used to launder radical ideals and urging voters not to elect a mayor who’s flip-flopped on the issues.
“I want to be clear, although this is the end of my campaign, this will not be the end of my public service,” he said.
“I will keep fighting for our city no matter what because I am a New Yorker.”
Hizzoner had been facing increasing pressure to drop his independent re-election bid, especially after President Trump’s Department of Justice dismissed his controversial federal corruption case.
“Many are skeptical of me after my historical indictment,” he admitted in the video.
Adams had left the door open to doing so in an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton Saturday — just weeks after he defiantly insisted he wasn’t going anywhere.
Fears the packed field would all-but-ensure Mamdani’s election even prompted Trump and White House officials to engage in an extraordinary spate of backroom talks aimed at getting Adams, Sliwa or both candidates to quit the race.
6Mayor Eric Adams is dropping out of the mayoral race.AP
Adams had been floated several potential plum gigs, including an ambassadorship, by Trump officials, but those fizzled out as the president only appeared willing to poach the Big Apple mayor if Sliwa came along, insiders had told The Post.
Polls show Cuomo has the best chance of besting Mamdani in November’s election, so long as it’s a one-on-one contest.
But Sliwa has vowed to remain in the race as the GOP’s standard bearer — and his devoted supporters have argued that Cuomo, who is running as an independent after he was embarrassingly trounced by Mamdani in the June Democratic primary, should be the one to step aside.
Despite suspending his campaign, Adams will remain on the November 4 ballot, as will fellow independent candidate Jim Walden, who also dropped his beyond-longshot bid.
6The news comes as Trump tries to pave the way for the top candidate to beat socialist Zohran Mamdani, sources said.Getty
Adams’ decision ensures his mayoralty will end after his roller-coaster first term — and not with a humiliating, widely expected rout at the ballot box.The former police captain came into office in 2022 following the devastating COVID pandemic that shuttered businesses across the city — and was immediately faced with another growing crisis, thousands of migrants pouring into the Big Apple from the southern US border.
Thanks to policy actions by the Adams and Trump administration, the crisis straining city resources eased dramatically this year, with migrant arrivals dropping from a peak of 4,000 per week, to fewer than 100 individuals.
Under Adams, and his police commissioner Jessica Tisch, crime has also dropped significantly — with shooting down to historic lows this year.
And the NYPD recovered a whopping more than 23,000 illegal guns from the streets over Adams’ term.
The mayor made housing a priority, with his policies protecting more than 400,000 affordable units throughout the five boroughs and his administration paving the way to build one million new homes.
6NYC Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.Getty Images
But New York City’s second black mayor, who cruised into office after his 2021 by promising to bring “swagger” back to City Hall, was quickly marred by scandal.
The former state senator and Brooklyn borough president was charged in a five-count indictment, including bribery and fraud, last September and had pleaded not guilty. He was accused of pocketing more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from people seeking to buy influence with him, including a Turkish official.
The mayor and the Trump administration had denied allegations of a “quid pro quo” where Adams would help with immigration enforcement in exchange for feds getting his case dropped.
His troubled first term also saw members of his administration arrested and embroiled in controversy.
6Polling suggests ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate who can take on Mamdani in a one-to-one fight.Robert Miller
Adams’ longtime right-hand Ingrid Lewis-Martin charged with conspiracy and bribery last month in four separate indictments for running a corruption scheme and exchanging political favors for $75,000 in bribes — including thousands in seafood and an acting role opposite Forest Whitaker.
Lewis-Martin was previously hit late last year on a separate slate of bribery charges, accusing her of taking $100,000 to cover the cost of a Porsche for her son, who, along with two hoteliers, was named in that indictment.
Adams is not implicated in the new indictments against Lewis-Martin, who has called herself his “sister ordained by God.”
Also last month, another ally, Winnie Greco, Adams’ former top aid and adviser to his re-election bid, bafflingly handed a reporter a potato bag filled with cash.
6Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, hosted discussions with Adams, sources said.REUTERS
6Mayor Eric Adams has slipped to fourth place in mayoral election polls.Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
Her volunteer status with the mayor’s re-election bid was immediately suspended after the mishap.
Greco, a former Asian affairs adviser under Adams, resigned in October 2024, with speculation swirling that the one-time trusted aide could be indicted by the feds.
Her Bronx home was raided in February that year after she faced a probe by the city’s Department of Investigation over allegations that she improperly used her position to get perks.
Adams denied any accusations of wrongdoing on his part and derided the corruption case against him as “lawfare.”
But the mayor’s reputation couldn’t recover, despite months of crowing about accomplishments with the mantra, “Jobs are up, crime is down.”
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After insiders spilled the beans on Adams’ ultimately failed talks for a job in Trump’s administration, he increasingly whined in recent weeks about the impact on his campaign.
“When you’re hearing every day that tomorrow Eric is leaving tomorrow, Eric is leaving six weeks out, it impacts your fundraising ability,” he said recently I on “Sid & Friends in the Morning.”
“I’m not saying woe is me, I’m saying, ‘Why not me?’ Why not me, because I’ve done a great job for the city and we’re going to continue to do that.”
— Additional reporting by Anna Young
