(CNN) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams ended his reelection bid Sunday to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way,” walking down the stairs of Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, and sitting down next to an enlarged photo of his late mother to say he was exiting the field.
“Only in America can a story like this be told,” Adams said.
It was an ending similar to the beginning, when Adams, standing in the middle of Times Square held a photo of his mother as he was sworn in as New York City’s second Black mayor, promising to represent the interests of working-class New Yorkers.
Nearly four years later, Adams said he was ending his bid for reelection because of a lack of funding and a media campaign that he felt had sought to undermine his chances.
Cuomo gets closer to the two man race he wanted
Adams’ exit from the race will breathe new, if temporary life into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s struggling campaign.
There was cautious optimism among members of Cuomo’s operation on Sunday. Two senior aides to Cuomo who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations said the campaign was confident Adams’ exit would help consolidate badly needed support behind the former governor including from some unions and Black supporters who were supporting Adams.
The sources said high-powered donors who could pitch in significant sums of money were also expected to help the Cuomo campaign – a crucial boon for any candidate particularly as the race enters its last stretch before the general election in New York City’s expensive media market.
Over the next few weeks, Cuomo is expected to broaden his message and try to appeal to more than just moderate Democrats who do not support candidate Zohran Mamdani who is a democratic socialist. The sources said the campaign also wants to target Republicans who do not believe Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is a viable candidate.
Cuomo’s campaign does not expect Sliwa to leave the race, the sources said. Instead, the campaign hopes to “minimize” his presence and broaden its appeal to Republicans who do not see Curtis as a serious candidate and do not want to “waste their vote.”
A senior aide to Cuomo also left open the possibility for a potential endorsement from Adams who appeared to highlighted the importance of experienced candidates in his video.
Cuomo aides are not sure they want an outright endorsement but are hoping to keep relations warm. Cuomo’s statement after Adams’ announcement praised his record despite their past differences. As of Sunday afternoon, though, Cuomo had not spoken with the mayor directly.
Mamdani readies for a fight
News that Adams would end his reelection bid reached Mamdani as he was about to greet volunteers at a canvas event in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Mamdani continued his scheduled stops on Sunday, including a visit to Black-owned small businesses in Brooklyn before rushing to campaign headquarters in Manhattan where he recorded a video response to Adams’ announcement and did a round of TV interviews.
Over the next few weeks, Mamdani’s campaign expects to roll out several endorsements and continue the frenzied pace of campaigning Mamdani has sustained in recent months. While Mamdani has decreased the number of publicized events, aides say he spends most days in meetings bouncing between coalition building and setting up his potential transition while continuing to appear in houses of worship across the city and attending volunteer events.
Internally, aides to Mamdani see Adams’ exit from the race as a boost and confirmation of a central line of attack Mamdani has deployed against his chief opponent in recent weeks: That Cuomo is Trump’s chosen candidate and that his campaign represents the interests of the city’s elite business class, billionaire donors and real estate powers who already spent millions of dollars during the primary to try and derail Mamdani’s campaign.
Sliwa hangs on
Sliwa, a radio host whose claim to fame is founding the Guardian Angels – a vigilante watchmen group that patrolled the streets of New York City in the 1980s – showed no signs of exiting the race as of Sunday.
Although Sliwa is polling ahead of Adams in the most recent surveys, Democrats largely outnumber Republicans in New York City by more than 6 to 1, making his path to victory extremely unlikely.
Sliwa, who has never held public office and has no prior government experience, has focused his campaign on public safety.
Seeing no way out, Adams will focus on legacy
The writing had been on the wall for Adams’ reelection bid for weeks.
Facing a pressure campaign to leave the race, Adams lashed out in recent days, blaming the media for trying to “undermine” his reelection, saying a constant stream of negative headlines about his reelection prospects had made it virtually impossible for him to raise money to fund his run.
“I cannot continue my reelection campaign. 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,” Adams said in a video announcing he was leaving the race.
In reality, it was a steady stream of corruption scandals involving members of his inner circle and senior members of his administration coupled with Adams’ efforts to cozy up to Trump after his own federal indictment last year that proved fatal for his reelection chances.
Adams, a retired New York Police Department Captain has overseen a record drop in crime over the last three years and notched significant accomplishments during his administration – including a major overhaul of the city’s land use rules which have opened the door to build much needed housing and development.
Governor Kathy Hochul – who endorsed Mamdani earlier this month – praised Adams’ record, saying she had been proud to work with him.
“He leaves New York City better than he inherited it and that will always be central to his legacy as mayor,” Hochul said in a statement.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York who has held back his endorsement of Mamdani and is not considered an ally of Adams, also praised the mayor’s record. Jeffries made it clear he would not weigh in on the race just yet, saying he would do so “well before the start” of early voting in New York City, which begins at the end of October.
Adams, who had recently increased campaign-style events is now expected to focus the next few months on solidifying his legacy as prepares to leave City Hall and it remains unclear whether he will seek to help or hurt any of the remaining candidates in the race. Adams – the city’s second Black mayor – is on track to repeat the same fate of the first. David Dinkins, who made history as the city’s first Black mayor lost his reelection bid to Rudy Giuliani in 1993.
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