By: Andrew Carlson

Mayor Eric Adams, who for months has insisted he remains firmly in the race for reelection, is now signaling a significant shift in tone. According to a report on Thursday in The New York Daily News, Adams’ campaign chairman Frank Carone revealed that the mayor plans to commission an internal poll “soon” to determine whether he will continue what many view as an increasingly quixotic bid for another term.

Carone, a longtime political confidant of the mayor, did not specify a timeline or identify which pollster would be retained. Todd Shapiro, Adams’ campaign spokesman, provided little additional detail, only noting that Adams “will be spending his resources to get his message out and will then look at his own independent poll to make a decision” about whether to stay in the race.

This careful but deliberate recalibration marks one of the clearest indications yet that Adams is actively considering abandoning his candidacy — a possibility long whispered about in political circles but rarely acknowledged by the mayor’s inner circle.

As The New York Daily News has reported, Adams has languished at the bottom of every major public poll for months. His numbers remain mired in the single digits, overshadowed by Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who is widely seen as the frontrunner, and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has mounted an independent campaign.

Adams’ inability to gain traction is due in part to the lingering cloud of his now-dismissed federal corruption indictment, as well as his contentious ties to President Trump’s administration. Though he has repeatedly brushed off questions about his electability, Adams’ stalled momentum has fueled speculation that his campaign is little more than a bargaining chip for future political or private opportunities.

Three separate surveys released this week all placed Adams dead last — a grim showing that has amplified calls from within the political and business establishment for him to reassess his candidacy.

Behind the scenes, pressure is mounting for Adams to bow out. According to the information provided in The New York Daily News report, Trump’s political team and other power brokers have been lobbying Adams to exit the race in order to boost Cuomo’s chances against Mamdani in November. The calculus is clear: Adams and Cuomo, both independents, are competing for a similar bloc of centrist voters, thereby splintering the anti-Mamdani vote.

Polls suggest Cuomo would be in a stronger position to defeat Mamdani if Adams steps aside. For Adams, the potential trade-off could be a landing spot in Trump’s administration or a lucrative position in the private sector, options that sources say he has begun to consider more seriously as his reelection prospects dim.

The notion of commissioning an internal poll first surfaced during a private meeting Adams attended on Wednesday afternoon with business leaders convened by the Association for a Better New York. According to the report in The New York Daily News and corroborated by NBC4, the mayor acknowledged that he was closely monitoring public polling data while conceding that campaigns often shift in the final weeks.

Significantly, Adams told the group he “loves the city more than [he] dislikes Andrew,” a pointed reference to Cuomo, with whom he has engaged in a heated public feud. The remark struck many attendees as a stark departure from Adams’ rhetoric just one week earlier, when he stood at Gracie Mansion and branded Cuomo a “liar” and a “snake” during a fiery press conference.

For political observers, the softer tone suggested a pragmatic recognition that he may ultimately need to step aside for the sake of consolidating opposition to Mamdani.

Despite this behind-the-scenes shift, Adams has continued to project confidence in public. At campaign stops and media appearances, he insists that he remains committed to his reelection effort. Yet the growing dissonance between his public bravado and private concessions has not gone unnoticed.

As The New York Daily News report highlighted, Adams has a long history of taking cues from internal polling. In previous campaigns, he relied heavily on private data to fine-tune his message and evaluate his standing. The decision to commission such a survey now signals that he is, at the very least, preparing for the possibility of an exit strategy.

Carone’s acknowledgment on Thursday — that Adams would be weighing his future against the results of a privately commissioned poll — is the clearest signal yet that the mayor’s campaign may not survive the coming weeks.

For Adams, the stakes are immense. If he presses on despite abysmal polling, he risks being remembered as a spoiler whose presence in the race siphoned critical votes and inadvertently aided Mamdani’s path to City Hall. If he bows out, he may salvage political capital — and position himself for future roles, whether in Washington or in the corporate world.

The challenge lies in the timing. With just 56 days remaining before the November 4 election, the window for a reset is narrowing rapidly. Cuomo’s campaign is already consolidating endorsements and fundraising momentum, while Mamdani continues to benefit from the fractured opposition.

The New York Daily News report noted that Adams’ allies are increasingly divided over whether he should remain in the contest. Some argue that his continued presence undermines the very city he claims to love; others believe he owes it to his supporters to see the campaign through.

Ultimately, the internal poll Adams commissions may determine the trajectory of both his political career and the broader mayoral race. If the numbers confirm what public polls have already suggested — that he has little chance of victory — he may finally yield to the mounting pressure and exit.

But if the survey offers even a glimmer of hope, Adams could attempt to press forward, gambling that a late surge might rescue his faltering candidacy.

Either way, as The New York Daily News has repeatedly emphasized, the mayor’s once-defiant insistence on staying the course has given way to a far more uncertain posture. His future now hinges not on lofty rhetoric or fiery press conferences, but on the cold calculus of data — and the willingness of the political establishment to offer him an alternative path forward.