NYC Mayoral Race: Eric Adams is Out, So Who’s Next? 

Less than a month ago, New York City Mayor Eric Adams stood outside Gracie Mansion, his official residence, and told a gaggle of reporters he had every intention to keep chasing a second term. 

On Sunday, Adams announced he was dropping out in a social media video, taking parting shots at the New York media and the city’s campaign finance board on his way out. 

“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” said the embattled Adams, who has faced a myriad of corruption allegations and reported soft pressure from President Donald Trump to exit. “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. 

His exit, which guarantees America’s largest city will have a new mayor come January, comes with just five weeks left before New Yorkers head to the polls for an election that has gained national attention in part because of the race’s leading candidate, NYS Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. 

Mamdani, a self-declared democratic-socialist, bested former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was once considered the favorite, in the June Democratic Party primary. For Democrats across America, a Mamdani victory in the general election – pendent on margins – could be the catalyst for a broader progressive shift in the party’s ideology.

The progressive Mamdani currently leads the polls by a double-digit margin. However, with the Adams exit, his lead could shrink as many Adams supporters are expected to split between Cuomo and Republican Candidate Curtis Sliwa, although the incumbent mayor has not yet endorsed either candidate.

“We are confident that no matter what formulation this race takes, whether it’s me versus three candidates, or me one-on-one with any one of them, we will win the race,” Mamdani said in mid-September.

Supporters of the independent Cuomo are hoping that Sliwa also drops his bid. However, the Republican has vehemently denied any desire to do so. “I’m not going anywhere,” Sliwa said amid last month’s speculation that President Trump might offer him a cabinet position, although their relationship has since soured. “You want to get me out of this race, put two bullets in the back of my head, put me in a casket, give me a dirt bath, just make sure you give me a good eulogy,” he said.

In a scenario where Sliwa did leave the race, Mamdani would look to avoid an outcome like Buffalo, New York’s 2021 mayoral election. In that race’s primary, India Walton, another self-identified progressive, defeated longtime incumbent Mayor Byron Brown; however, Brown leveraged his longstanding campaign apparatus in the general election and defeated Walton in an independent bid.

New Yorkers head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 4.