Over the last few months, Mayor Eric Adams had repeatedly said he had no intention of ending his run for reelection.

But on Sunday, Adams blamed “unfortunate events” surrounding his federal case as a main reason for not continuing his campaign.

One political expert has some ideas on who the mayor’s backers could support come Election Day.

“He made some serious mistakes”

As he exited the race, Adams touted some reforms he has pulled off during his tenure, but said the reasons for not continuing his campaign were related to the federal charges against him and the Campaign Finance Board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars from his campaign.

J.C. Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, weighed in on Sunday night.

“You can’t really function if you don’t have the money to put your message out, to counter the narrative,” Polanco said.

Polanco explained how Adams came to the decision he did.

“He made some serious mistakes, some serious managerial mistakes,” Polanco said. “He surrounded himself with the wrong people. He wanted to keep it real. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew who was the boss and was loyal to a fault, and he kept people even after indictments, even after accusations, even after everything you could imagine. 

“He wanted to show his loyalty to these people and this is where keeping it real goes wrong. Mayor Adams made that mistake and it was fatal at the end, you know? Then you have the indictment and the agreement to accept President Trump’s support. That was a kiss of death,” Polanco added.

So who does Polanco see Adams voters supporting? It all depends on what the leading candidates truly think of their chances to beat frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.

“This is what it comes down to: These two candidates, former Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo and [Curtis] Sliwa, they have to take a look at the next poll numbers and take a look at the margin of error, look at the reputable poll numbers, and see whether or not you have a shot of making this happen. And if you don’t have a shot, push your ego aside support the other candidate,” Polanco said.

Mixed opinions from New Yorkers on Eric Adams’ exodus

Outside Brooklyn Borough Hall, where Adams spent nearly a decade building his political career, opinions were mixed in response to the news that he was dropping out of the race.

“To be honest with you, I don’t care for him being the mayor again because I don’t care for how he handled the illegal immigration situation,” Brownsville resident Jeremy Cooper said.

“I’m curious what he got for [dropping out],” Brooklyn resident Jessica Raymond said with a laugh.

“I don’t really want him to go,” added Canarsie resident Kelly Wilks. “I feel like he did a good job with his term. A lot of opportunities opened up for jobs. The streets are safer. There’s police in every station.”

Some New Yorkers said they are pretty much on fact-finding missions going forward as they weigh if Adams’ exit really impacts their vote.

“For now, I’m still researching,” Wilks said.

“We had better options the last time around,” another person said.

“I’m going to be supporting Mamdani,” Brooklyn resident Dan Vedder said. “First of all, he’s the Democratic nominee and I don’t particularly like anyone that’s running against him.”

“Cuomo,” another said.

Voters have 36 days left to decide. 

• Andrew Cuomo
• Curtis Sliwa
• Eric Adams
• New York City
• Zohran Mamdani