It looks like the New York Mayoral race may be a close call between Zohran Mamani and Andrew Cuomo, after potential candidate Eric Adams announced that he would be dropping out of the mayoral race.
So, how are Adams’ former opponents reacting to the news?
Mamdani told Eyewitness News that after Adams dropped out, he does not feel the race has changed.
“It’s a race between us and the failed politics that we’ve seen, whether it’s Andrew Cuomo or Eric Adams,” he said. “It’s a politics where Donald Trump and billionaire donors are determining the actions of failed executives. We’re going to show that they can’t dictate the outcome of this race.”
Asked if he was concerned that voters who would have supported Adams would start supporting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani said he remains confident.
“There were months where Andrew Cuomo told everyone he could find that he wanted me to be his primary opponent, and he got that, and we beat him by 13 points,” Mamdani said. “And I’m just as confident as I was at the beginning of this general election that we’re going to win this race, and we’re going to do it by speaking to New Yorkers across the five boroughs… You’re feeling the affordability crisis in the most expensive city in the United States of America. We’re the only campaign with a plan to deliver that affordability.”
READ: Polls show Zohran Mamdani holds biggest lead yet in NYC mayor’s race (
On the other side, Cuomo, speaking to reporters outside of a campaign event in Queens on Sunday night, praised Adams as sincere and said his withdrawal indeed shakes up the race, while saying that New Yorkers should be “afraid” of a win by Democratic nominee Mamdani.
“I believe Mayor Adams is 100% sincere. I applaud his selflessness. You know, we often wonder, is it about us, or is it about a greater calling? And I think what Mayor Adams said today speaks volumes,” Cuomo said. “He said, ‘I’m going to put my personal ambition aside for the good of the city,’ because he’s afraid of the result if Mr. Mamdani would have (sic) win the election, and we should all be afraid of the result.
Cuomo claimed that Adams no longer campaigning makes a difference. “It’s not just about the polling. You know, the mayor was – is the incumbent mayor, so he is a potent force in the campaign; if he is not actively campaigning, that changes the entire dynamic of the race,” Cuomo said. “There’s now more attention on just me than just Mr. Mamdani, it is a two person race… Now we can juxtapose the two philosophies, and people can see those facts.”
The 2025 New York City mayoral race was upended this week as Mayor Eric Adams dropped out, narrowing the crowded field to a high-stakes contest between progressive Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
READ: From TikTok videos to Bollywood vibes: How Zohran Mamdani rewrote the campaign playbook (
Adams’ exit—amid mounting ethics probes, weak poll numbers, and financial strain—creates an opening in the moderate lane, but his support was limited and fractured. How much of it shifts to Cuomo remains uncertain.
Mamdani enters the general election as the frontrunner, powered by an energized progressive base, grassroots strength, and name recognition from his primary victory. Cuomo faces the challenge of reintroducing himself to voters who recall both his achievements and controversies.
Turnout is expected to be decisive. Mamdani’s path relies on younger and nontraditional voters, while Cuomo must consolidate older, moderate Democrats and independents. Without Adams splitting that bloc, Cuomo has a clearer—though still uphill—path. The race is shaping up as a referendum on New York’s political direction: establishment revival or progressive transformation.