Independent New York City mayoral candidate Jim Walden has dropped out of the race, urging unity to defeat Zohran Mamdani.  Walden, who previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney, had been near the bottom in polls, averaging just over 1 percent in the average from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. In a multi-person race that includes bigger names like Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and sitting Mayor Eric Adams, Walden struggled to break through and rally support to his campaign. 

But Walden’s move is a first, if small, step toward attempting to coalesce opposition to Mamdani ahead of the general election in November.  Walden had first said that whichever candidate is polling the best against Mamdani in September should face him in a head-to-head contest, and the other candidates

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