Follow CNN Politics Rising crime in New York has gripped the mayoral race. Eric Adams says he alone can fix it. Updated 9:14 AM ET, Sat May 29, 2021 Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President and a Democratic mayoral candidate, speaks after receiving the endorsement from the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) in the Bronx on May 7, 2021 in New York City. (CNN)For the first few months of New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, the campaign seemed to be trundling along in search of a defining issue. Covid-19 numbers were dropping, Democrats in Washington delivered financial aid to head off a potential budget crisis and, with the outlook generally bright, the candidates' plans -- many of them crafted in painstaking detail -- blurred together as the contest, which often played out in a long series of interminable Zoom forums, took a backseat to other provincial political dramas.