New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an “October 7: One Year Later” commemoration to mark the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack in Israel at the Summer Stage in Central Park on October 7, 2024, in New York City. Photo: Ron Adar/ SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In a stunning turn of events just over a month before Election Day, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that he was withdrawing from his reelection bid, reshaping the dynamics of a race that has drawn international attention while leaving many Jewish voters scrambling for an alternative candidate.

Adams — whose term in office has been marked by legal drama, declining public support, and mounting political pressure — cited fundraising challenges, media scrutiny, and weakening momentum as key reasons for his exit. Though Adams’s name will remain on the ballot since his announcement came after the deadline for printing them, his decision to drop out removes an active campaign that had drawn critical support from center-left and moderate constituencies.

With Adams suspending his candidacy, the mayoral contest is now largely a showdown between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist with an extensive history of anti-Israel rhetoric, and the independent candidacy of scandal-plagued former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is also still in the race, but recent polling and New York City’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate indicate a likely third-place finish.

The exit of Adams compresses the field and raises the stakes for how his base, particularly moderate Democrats in combination with business-friendly and pro-Israel voters, may realign.

Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old member of the New York State Assembly, defeated Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.

Some observers believe Adams’s withdrawal could help consolidate anti-Mamdani votes behind Cuomo. However, many others suggest that Mamdani has gained too much momentum to be thwarted by last-ditch efforts before the November election.

Earlier this month, a Quinnipiac University poll showed Mamdani taking 45 percent in a four-way matchup, well ahead of Cuomo at 23 percent, Sliwa at 15 percent, and Adams at just 12 percent. If Adams were to exit the race, according to the data, Mamdani’s margin would narrow, with 46 percent support compared to Cuomo’s 30 percent. Sliwa would hold 17 percent of the electorate.

The results came days after another poll showed similar results.

In immediate reactions to Adams’s decision to drop out, Mamdani downplayed the significance to his campaign’s status. “It’s a race between us and the failed politics of the past,” he said, reiterating his calls to move beyond entrenched donor power.

Some prominent voices, such as billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman, called on Sliwa to follow Adams’s lead and drop out to consolidate as much support against Mamdani as possible. However, Sliwa does not seem keen on the idea. “Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate who can defeat Mamdani,” the Republican nominee’s campaign said in a statement on Sunday.

Adams’s withdrawal also removes a figure long seen as reliably supportive of pro-Israel positions and Jewish communal priorities. During his tenure, the mayor repeatedly vowed to defend the city’s Jewish community and delivered a forceful condemnation of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. His departure leaves advocacy groups, synagogues, and institutions reconsidering their strategies, particularly around municipal support for security, interfaith partnerships, and cultural funding.

The recent Quinnipiac poll underscored Adams’s strong standing among certain demographics, particularly Jewish voters, who make up a crucial bloc in several boroughs. Among Jewish voters, Adams received 42 percent support, while Mamdani and Cuomo were tied at 21 percent each. Moreover, 75 percent of Jewish voters view Mamdani unfavorably, according to the poll, highlighting a key vulnerability for the progressive candidate.

A Siena College poll from August similarly found that Mamdani has been remarkably unpopular with Jewish New Yorkers. According to the results, a staggering 75 percent held an unfavorable opinion of the Queens Democrat and just 15 percent viewed him favorably. His unfavorable rating among Jewish voters was more than 38 points higher than his standing with the general electorate, where 37 percent viewed him negatively compared to 28 percent favorably.

A little-known politician before this year’s primary campaign, Mamdani is an outspoken supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination. Mamdani also defended the phrase “globalize the intifada” — which references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israelis and has been widely interpreted as a call to expand political violence — by invoking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during World War II. In response, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum repudiated the mayoral candidate, calling his comments “outrageous and especially offensive to [Holocaust] survivors.”

Mamdani sparked outrage again on Sunday when he seemingly sidestepped a direct question on whether Hamas is a terrorist organization, instead condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.