New York City Mayor Eric Adams is ending his reelection bid.
The former NYPD captain turned Brooklyn politician, announced his decision to suspend the campaign in a pre-recorded video message released across his social media channels on Sunday, with only five weeks to go until Election.
“It has been my honor to be your mayor,” Adams said in a video announcing his departure. “And I’m proud to say that we took that victory four years ago and turned it into action, making this city better for those who have been failed by government.”
The mayor blamed city election officials, lingering concerns over a since-dismissed federal bribery case and the media for undermining his effort to secure a second term.
“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” Adams said. “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.”
“Although this is the end of my re-election campaign, it is not the end of my public service. I will continue to fight for this city, as I have for 40 years since the day I joined the NYPD to make our streets safer and our systems fairer,” he said.
In a nearly nine-minute video, Adams — who enjoyed strong ratings from New Yorkers early in his term but saw his standing plummet after being indicted on federal corruption charges and then seeing those charges dropped by the Trump administration — said he hoped New Yorkers “will see that despite the headlines and the innuendo, I always put you before me.”
Widespread reporting suggested the Trump administration, among others, wanted Adams out in order to clear a better path for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to defeat the mayor.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is also running a third-party bid for mayor, said in a statement with NBC News that he believes Adams “is sincere in putting the well-being of New York City ahead of personal ambition.”
“We face destructive extremist forces that would devastate our city through incompetence or ignorance, but it is not too late to stop them,” said Cuomo, referencing without naming Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a state legislator.
Cuomo praised Adams, saying that he “has much to be proud of in his accomplishments.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been a friend and ally of the mayor for more than three decades, reacted to the news Sunday afternoon.
“Mayor Adams informed me earlier today that he would not seek re-election, and I told him I respected his decision, wished him nothing but the best,” Sharpton said in a statement. “We have been friends for nearly 35 years, and he helped us establish National Action Network in 1991. He has been a friend of NAN year in and year out since, especially over the last almost four years he led City Hall.”
Adams is expected to finish out his term at the end of the year. He won as a Democrat four years ago, in 2021, after serving as the Brooklyn borough president.