Overview
- Adams announced his withdrawal in a video on X on Sept. 28, roughly five weeks before the Nov. 4 vote.
- He said persistent media coverage and the city campaign finance board’s withholding of millions made it impossible to continue his campaign.
- The field now consists of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, with media analyses suggesting Cuomo could benefit from Adams’s exit.
- Federal bribery and corruption charges filed against Adams last year were dropped in April at the instruction of the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Adams had publicly aligned with President Trump, and media reports say Trump pressed for the case to be dropped and that officials considered offering Adams a federal post.