After months of speculations — and years of scandals — Eric Adams has officially dropped his bid to be reelected mayor of New York City.
“I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” Adams said in a video posted to X. “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.”
That leaves the Democratic nominee Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, the clear frontrunner in the race, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
In the wake of Mamdani’s surprise primary win in June, real estate has been scrambling to coalesce on a candidate to back. Between June 25 and July 11, right after Cuomo’s loss to Mamdani, Adams raised more than $480,000 from real estate, making him the clear industry frontrunner. But after current and former members of his administration were indicted in August on charges related to speeding up construction approvals and steering contracts to certain developers, the fundraising slowed down significantly.
Between July 12 and August 18, Adams brought in a little more $60,500 from real estate donors. That was slightly above the $53,700 Cuomo brought in during that period.
Adams’ campaign sued the board last month to try and force the release of $4.7 million in public matching funds.
The question remains whether Adams’ dropping out will be a boost to Cuomo’s campaign. A recent Suffolk University poll found Mamdani in the lead with 45 percent of the vote, followed by Cuomo at 25 percent and then Adams and Sliwa trailed behind at 7 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
In the video posted today, Adams continued to tout his leadership when it came to housing. “We built more housing in one term than any administration before us and removed barriers to build even more,” he said.
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