Defeat of moderate candidates in New York: progressives gain a mandate to influence the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 and 2028 campaigns

On September 28, 2025, the incumbent mayor of New York, Eric Adams, who was running for reelection as an independent candidate, announced the suspension of his election campaign.

Since Adams’ withdrawal, the race for the city’s mayoral position has unfolded among three candidates—the Democratic Party nominee Zohran Mamdani, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who failed to secure the Democratic Party’s support in the primaries and is participating in the elections as an independent candidate.

Since 2013, the Democratic candidate has consistently won the New York City mayoral elections by a large margin.