Mayor Eric Adams suspended his re-election campaign Sept. 28, reshaping the mayoral contest into a three-way race between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo — now running as an independent — and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
A FOX News poll conducted Sept. 18-22, before Adams’ exit, showed Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, leading by 18 percentage points with 45% support. Cuomo placed second with 27%, Sliwa drew 11%, and Adams trailed at 8%. Even if Cuomo absorbs Adams’ support, Mamdani would still hold a significant lead, according to the survey.
Adams, who was running as an independent, announced his withdrawal in a Sept. 28 video message. He warned New Yorkers to “beware of those who claim the answer is to destroy the very system we built together over generations.”
“That is not change. That is chaos,” Adams said. “Instead, I urge New Yorkers to choose leaders not by what they promise but by what they have delivered.”
Following Adams’ announcement, Mamdani responded in a video criticizing both Adams and Cuomo.
“Donald Trump and his billionaire donors might be able to determine Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo’s actions, but they will not dictate the results of this election,” Mamdani wrote, adding that “we’ll turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas.”
President Donald Trump weighed in as well, calling Mamdani a “Self proclaimed New York City Communist” and suggesting he would block federal support for his agenda if he wins.
Trump said Mamdani “will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party. He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City.”
“Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his fake Communist promises,” he added. “He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him? This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed!”
Less than a day after Adams’ exit, Mamdani hosted a news conference with a woman who blamed Cuomo for homelessness after he cut funding for the Advantage rental assistance program in 2011, FOX reported.
In a statement to FOX, Cuomo’s campaign dismissed the charge as a “moot issue that happened 14 years ago — when Mamdani was in college — amid a $10 billion shortfall and that funding has been replaced and increased many times over through other rental assistance programs.”
A Cuomo spokesperson also attacked Mamdani’s record, highlighting his past support for decriminalizing prostitution, sending social workers to respond to domestic violence calls, and his comments urging Americans to “seize the means of production,” according to the outlet.
Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary in June, has garnered support from the party’s progressive wing, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., CatholicVote reported. He has also positioned his campaign as a direct challenge to the Trump administration.
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