Former New York Gov. David Paterson endorsed Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election bid Wednesday, offering the two-term mayor a boost as he faces slipping poll numbers.

“Eric is kicking it into high gear, he is taking no prisoners, he is moving forward,” Paterson said at an event alongside the mayor.

“We don’t want to have these situations where the government is falling apart and there’s no leadership and nobody knows what to do. We have a mayor who knows what to do. He’s already done it. We just want him to do it again,” Paterson added.

What You Need To Know

  • Former Gov. David Paterson endorsed Mayor Eric Adams in surprise move on Wednesday as the mayor faces slipping polling numbers

  • The endorsement marks a reversal for Paterson, who had previously backed Andrew Cuomo in the primary

  • Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani was met with chants of “GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME!” during a campaign stop on Staten Island

The endorsement marks a reversal for Paterson, who had previously backed Andrew Cuomo in the primary.

“I don’t think that when that challenge was coming in the last weeks, that he was addressing it and was as present as I thought he should’ve been during the campaign,” Paterson said. “He is still a candidate in this race, but my choice is Eric Adams.”

Adams, who served with Paterson in Albany nearly two decades ago, welcomed the show of support.

“I am proud today to be standing next to my friend, standing next to a real leader in this state and standing next to someone no matter what the obstacles were he always found a way to get through,” Adams said.

The mayor, who has been courting Latino voters amid former President Donald Trump’s renewed focus on immigration in New York City, also pointed to his record on issues important to the community.

“The Latino community, when I ran for office, I asked, ‘What do you want from me as the mayor?’ And they clearly stated, ‘We want to see our community in your administration.’ They did. ‘We want our city to be safer.’ It is. ‘We want to see our small businesses supported.’ We are. So, things that were asked of me when running, I produced them,” Adams said during an interview with Spectrum News Noticias.

While Adams worked to shore up support, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani was met with chants of “GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME!” during a campaign stop on Staten Island as part of his “anti-Trump” tour across the five boroughs.

“Part of the reason I stand before you as the Democratic nominee is that I went everywhere. I spoke to New Yorkers who voted for Trump. Whether it was on Fordham Road or Hillside Avenue. And I did not lecture them, I listened to them,” Mamdani told the crowd.

“Though there are Staten Islanders who are passionate in their support for Trump. There are some of those who voted for both of us, and I do not blame them because what they may have heard is a through line of just how suffocating this cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “What separates me from him, one of the key differences is that I mean what I say.”