The decision appeared to represent a remarkable end to a decades-long political career that was in turns exhilarating and unlikely, taking a working-class son of Queens, who said he was beaten by police as a teenager, to the highest office in New York City government. At one point, he was seriously discussed as a future national Democratic candidate, before accusations of corruption undid him.
The electoral effect of Mr. Adams’s exit may take some time to come into focus.
Polls have consistently put him in the single digits, suggesting that the number of votes he will free up for other candidates will be limited. Nevertheless, the mayor’s exit could give a fresh jolt of momentum to Mr. Cuomo, who, like Mr. Adams, is a moderate Democrat running on a third-party line.
Mr. Cuomo has been working frantically to try to shrink Mr. Mamdani’s sizable lead. The former governor and Mr. Trump had both been openly agitating for Mr. Adams to quit the race in an extraordinary attempt to consolidate opposition to Mr. Mamdani. Now, Mr. Cuomo believes he has the potential to pick up votes from Black and Orthodox Jewish voters who had supported Mr. Adams, and to unlock large contributions from business leaders opposed to Mr. Mamdani.
But with so little time left, catching Mr. Mamdani will be no easy feat. Even if Mr. Cuomo won over a significant share of the mayor’s supporters, a survey by The New York Times and Siena University suggested Mr. Mamdani would still have a comfortable lead.
Mr. Cuomo could get closer if he and his allies can persuade Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, to also drop out of the race. But unlike the mayor, Mr. Sliwa has refused all entreaties to suspend his bid, even from Mr. Trump, the leader of his party, who publicly dismissed his candidacy as unserious.
[SRC] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/nyregion/adams-mayor-drops-out.html
