NEW YORK: Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani reacted to Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to drop out of the race on Sunday, saying ‘It's time to actually think about New Yorkers.”
In an interview with Democracy Now!, Mamdani, who has campaigned on prioritizing working-class New Yorkers, said Adams’ record showed decisions made “at the behest of Donald Trump and his billionaire donors and at the expense of working-class New Yorkers.”
He criticized Adams for rent hikes, higher utility bills and policies that worsened the city’s cost-of-living crisis.
Adams’ departure from the race, a little more than a month before Election Day, leaves the contest to become the city's next mayor effectively between frontrunner Democrat Zohran Mamdani and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Adams had struggled to raise money and trailed far behind Mamdani and Cuomo, who is running as an independent, in public opinion polls.
Mamdani holds a sizeable lead ahead of the November 4 election, while recent polls showed single-digit support for both Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
The candidate pointed out his victory over Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, saying Cuomo and Trump sought to derail his campaign but failed. “There are many who are threatened by our campaign,” Mamdani said, adding that his focus remained on delivering for New Yorkers rather than political rivals.
