On Tuesday, September 2nd, Jim Walden, an independent candidate for New York City Mayor, dropped out of the mayoral race. The announcement came via a tweet posted on X, saying, “For months I have been steadfast in my view that, unless there is a one-on-one race in November, a Trojan Horse will take control of City Hall. I cannot spend more public money in the futile hope I am the one called to battle.”
Walden, an attorney, struggled to position himself alongside other candidates, including incumbent Eric Adams, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. After months of consistently trailing behind in the polls, he has decided to suspend his campaign.
While on the campaign trail, Walden raised $1.1 million and $2.3 million in matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board. Now that he has dropped out, Walden will have to return the matching funds, but he has said he only has $1.24 million left.
In his post announcing his campaign suspension, Walden said, “For those still trailing in the polls by month’s end, I implore each to consider how history will judge them if they allow vanity or stubborn ambition to usher in Mr. Mamdani.”
