New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Friday he was staying in the race for another term amid reports that he might be offered a job in the Trump administration.
Speculation reached its peak on Friday throughout the day that Adams would end his campaign after The New York Times reported that President Trump’s advisers have been floating a plan to offer him and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa positions in the administration to get them out of the race. The idea would reportedly be to clear the way for Andrew Cuomo to oppose Zohran Mamdani in a one-on-one matchup.
While Sliwa has ruled out taking any position in the administration, Adams left the door open earlier on Friday to consider other jobs, though he said he hadn’t received any formal offer.
Presuming Adams does stay in the race, his decision is a blow to efforts to try to consolidate opposition to Mamdani, the Democratic nominee who identifies as a democratic socialist, behind a single candidate. Cuomo, the former New York governor who has come in second in polling, has suggested that candidates should consider this strategy to increase the chances of defeating Mamdani.
With a multi-candidate field, critics of Mamdani have expressed concern that he would be able to easily win. Mamdani has led comfortably in polls but with less than majority support.
