{"id":263876,"date":"2025-09-29T13:19:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/263876\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:19:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:19:18","slug":"eric-adams-exit-provides-boost-for-cuomo-but-not-enough-to-topple-mamdani-in-mayors-race-analysts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/263876\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Adams’ exit provides boost for Cuomo but not enough to topple Mamdani in mayor’s race: analysts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 decision to drop his re-election bid<\/a> provides a boost to Andrew Cuomo in the race for City Hall, but not nearly enough to topple mayoral front-runner and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, pollsters and campaign strategists said.<\/p>\n

Before his Sunday announcement, Adams was polling in the high single digits \u2014 not enough alone to change the trajectory of the race, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion.<\/p>\n

The front page of the New York Post on Monday, September 29, 2025.<\/p>\n

New York state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani speaking to volunteers. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n

The mayor received 9% support <\/a>in Marist\u2019s poll released earlier this month, a distant fourth behind Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.<\/p>\n

There are too few Adams voters to shift elsewhere to make a dramatic difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives Cuomo a boost \u2014 but it\u2019s not enough,\u201d Miringoff told The Post.<\/p>\n

New York City Mayor Eric Adams ended his re-election campaign on Sunday. Brigitte Stelzer<\/p>\n

Slingshot Strategies\u2019 founding partner Evan Roth Smith, who is also a lead pollster for Blueprint, echoed Miringoff\u2019s point. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere just aren\u2019t enough Adams voters out there to go somewhere new,\u201d Smith said. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo all said, it\u2019s probably worth a couple points for Andrew Cuomo, but Andrew Cuomo needs way more than a couple points to catch up to Zohran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent polls have Mamdani ahead of Cuomo by about 20 percentage points.<\/p>\n

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaking to reporters. J.C. Rice<\/p>\n

The Democratic socialist was unfazed by Adams\u2019 announcement and spoke directly to Cuomo in a social media video addressing the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to Andrew Cuomo, you got your wish. You wanted [President] Trump and your billionaire friends to help you clear the field,\u201d Mamdani said in an Instagram clip posted Sunday.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBut don\u2019t forget, you wanted me as your opponent in the primary, too and we beat you by 13 points. Looking forward to doing it again on November 4.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A Mamdani adviser pointed out that the mayor was compromised and damaged politically by the Trump Justice Department tossing his criminal case and his other dealings with the unpopular president.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe man [Adams] doesn\u2019t impact this race at all. Hasn\u2019t from the moment he cut the deal with Trump. That was game over for him as a player in the field,\u201d said Patrick Gaspard, the former US ambassador to South Africa under President Barack Obama and an adviser to Mamdani.<\/p>\n

Gaspard also said Adams\u2019 departure gives the front-runner an opportunity to make inroads with more older, black voters who stood with the incumbent mayor.<\/p>\n

The Mamdani camp noted the on-the-ground enthusiasm and turnout operation that his campaign has amassed, which polls didn\u2019t accurately capture during the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

Others argued that Adams bowing out is a bigger deal.<\/p>\n

There are too few Adams voters to shift elsewhere to make a dramatic difference. Brigitte Stelzer<\/p>\n

The race is no longer a cakewalk for Mamdani, claimed civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could change the temperature of the race,\u201d Sharpton said of Adams\u2019 exit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going from a race that was a given for Mamdani to a potentially competitive race,\u201d Sharpton said.<\/p>\n

Andrew Cuomo fell short in the NYC mayoral primary race. MediaPunch \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n

Still, he said Mamdani has the upper hand as the Democratic nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up to Andrew [Cuomo]. Andrew has to make the case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The assumption is that most of the older black, Jewish and Latino voters who stuck with Adams would shift to Cuomo.<\/p>\n

A Mamdani adviser pointed out that the mayor was compromised and damaged politically by the Trump Justice Department tossing his criminal case and his other dealings with the unpopular president. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n

The problem is that Cuomo will still be splitting the anti-Mamdani vote with Sliwa.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuomo needs Sliwa\u2019s votes,\u201d Miringoff said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Trump comes into play.<\/p>\n

Trump has mocked Sliwa<\/a>, his party\u2019s candidate, which could conceivably lead to some Sliwa voters switching to Cuomo \u2014 creating a potential center-right coalition.<\/p>\n

The problem is that Cuomo will still be splitting the anti-Mamdani vote with Sliwa, one expert says. Gregory P. Mango<\/p>\n

\u201cDo Republicans vote strategically to stop Mamdani? That\u2019s a story that\u2019s yet to be told,\u201d Miringoff said.<\/p>\n

The evidence on the campaign trail tells another story. Sliwa has strong grassroots support from Republicans and conservatives across the city, who\u2019ve known him for years and, from the looks of it, won\u2019t abandon him.<\/p>\n

Veteran strategist Basil Smikle, who worked for Hillary Clinton and Mike Bloomberg, agreed that Adams\u2019 high disapproval ratings among New Yorkers mean his exit might not trigger a dramatic shake-up in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this late stage and given Adams\u2019 poll numbers, it\u2019s unclear how much this matters or helps the anti-Mamdani efforts, but it does clear the field for the head-to-head matchup that Cuomo wanted,\u201d Smikle said \u2014 at least in fighting for Democratic voters.<\/p>\n

Zohran Mamdani is the front-runner in the NYC mayoral election. Getty Images<\/p>\n

If anything, Adams\u2019 exit could be a relief for Mamdani\u2019s grassroots efforts, given the mayor\u2019s self-assured campaign style, according to Smith, the Slingshot Strategies founder. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a strong argument to be made that Eric Adams was the second-best communicator in this field after Zohran Mamdani. This is a guy who knows how to get attention, own a news day, deliver a line and land a punch,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on the other side of Eric Adams in an election and it\u2019s not fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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