Brooklyn Council Member Carlos Menchaca Suspends Mayoral Campaign

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn Council Member Carlos Menchaca has pulled out of the race to become New York City's next mayor.

The Sunset Park council member announced Wednesday that he will suspend his mayoral campaign, which has struggled to make headway since it first launched in October.

"I decided to run for mayor because I believed I could help bring a voice to neglected communities across this city and bring the systemic change needed to create a more equitable, affordable and just New York," Menchaca said in an email to supporters. "It is clear that my path to a primary victory is no longer attainable so I am suspending my campaign for mayor."

Menchaca — who represents Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwood Heights and parts of Borough Park, Dyker Heights and Windsor Terrace — was the youngest candidate at 40 years old and would have been the first Latino and first openly-gay mayor to represent New York City.

"...It is my hope that those that look like me or love like me can see a place for themselves in our city government and know one day, one of us will serve as mayor of this great city," he said Wednesday.

Menchaca's campaign was among the more progressive of the 40 candidates vying for the office. It included proposals for Universal Basic Income, housing and police accountability.

Though roughly half of voters are still undecided, the frontrunners in the mayoral race include former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, among others, according to the New York Times.

The Democratic candidates will face a primary in June.