Andrew Yang walks past his reflection in a window.
Former New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images
  • Andrew Yang dropped out of the New York City mayoral race Tuesday night.
  • Early returns showed him in fourth place.
  • Yang said he hopes to stay involved in NYC politics "and beyond."
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Andrew Yang appeared in front of his supporters Tuesday night to deliver a concession speech.

Although there won't be an official winner in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary for several weeks, initial returns showed Yang in fourth place.

Unofficial results from in-person voting put Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams in first place, with the former NYPD officer holding a commanding lead of more than 50,000 votes as Yang delivered his speech.

"You all know I am a numbers guy, I'm someone who traffics in what's happening by the numbers, and I am not going to be the next Mayor of New York City, based upon the numbers that have come in tonight," Yang said.

"I am conceding this race, though we're not sure, ultimately, who the next mayor is going to be. But whoever that person is, I will be very happy to work with them to help improve the lives of the 8.3 million people who live in our great city."

Yang entered the race in January with a highly produced announcement video, and lead the early public polling for the next several months.

Adams overtook Yang in some polls by May, and Yang eventually slipped to third and fourth place in other surveys.

Ahead of Yang in the early returns were former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia and civil rights attorney Maya Wiley.

Garcia and Wiley would need second choice votes from the rest of the field to push ahead of Adams, along with a potential boost from absentee ballots.

Yang was the first candidate in the primary to concede on Tuesday night.

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