ALBANY — A political guru recently exposed as a main adviser to Gov. Kathy Hochul has called it quits after being blamed for driving her political operation into the ground while developing a toxic reputation among her staff.

Colorado-based consultant Adam Sullivan, 42, told Hochul’s 2022 campaign staff of his decision in an email sent Sunday and shared with The Post.

“I am writing to formally let you know that I have decided to step back from my role helping or advising the Governor as well as the State Party and any other efforts in New York State for the foreseeable future,” it said.

The move followed a report revealing Sullivan’s central role in advising Hochul on major decisions — as well as being behind a decision that nearly torpedoed her bid to become the first elected female governor in state history.

It also comes amid complaints from several former Hochul campaign staff who told The Post the Leadville, Colorado, resident — who had no formal job title on the governor’s team — had an overbearing presence and belittled subordinates.

“We listened to him and he called the shots,” one former campaign staffer said.

Sullivan, who has no formal job other than running a small consulting firm, overruled others in the campaign who thought Hochul ought to respond to attacks by Republican nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin over crime, instead advising her to focus on abortion, the New York Times reported April 26.

“It speaks to Adam’s ability to drive Kathy’s decisions one way or another,” a second source told The Post. “I’ve never seen somebody being able to operate with that level of autonomy.”

Sullivan’s alleged “egomaniac” attitude behind the scenes appears to date back to Hochul’s successful 2011 congressional race.

In her most recent campaign, he would try to impress staffers at times by walking the halls while loudly speaking to Hochul, and asked questions about their personal lives despite professional boundaries, sources said.

Some staffers recalled him belittling subordinates with comments like saying the governor didn’t know who they were — especially when someone challenged his authority or came up with an idea he hadn’t thought of himself.

“Almost entirely that ire was directed at women — and young women usually,” the first source said.

A veteran of a prior Hochul campaign said they observed similar behavior from Sullivan during his time advising Hochul when she was running for lieutenant governor.

“He was very, very much so condescending,” the former campaign operative said. “Sometimes, I think several of us got the impression that he would counter something that we were suggesting just for the sake of countering it.”

Sullivan — who did not respond to requests for comment from The Post in recent days — added an apology “to anyone who felt harmed in any way by my behavior” in the email Sunday.

Some political insiders have wondered why Hochul kept Sullivan around so long, especially considering a series of political disasters that hit her administration in recent months.

That includes brokering the most delayed state budget deal in more than a decade, as well as becoming the first governor to ever have a judicial pick rejected. The botched nomination of centrist Judge Hector LaSalle was part of a broader pivot away from the left by Hochul that has enraged many of the same progressives and labor groups that bailed the Democrat out against Zeldin months ago.

Some insiders also see Sullivan’s hand in botched efforts by Hochul to reach out to the Latino community, including with her selection of former Rep. Antonio Delgado of the Hudson Valley — whose family roots sparked controversy — to replace disgraced Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin.

Benjamin was initially selected with Sullivan’s input despite ethics concerns that led to federal bribery charges, which he eventually dodged.

The hidden hand of the faraway Sullivan explains a lot about “dysfunction” in the Hochul administration, insiders said.

“It just explains why there are so many problems, why there’s so much dysfunction, why they’ve made so many boneheaded decisions,” one Democratic operative kvetched. “Because our governor is listening to somebody in a completely different state.”

Hochul’s confidence in Sullivan had appeared unshakeable due to his role in shepherding her to victory in a 2011 special election for Congress to represent conservative areas of western New York.

“Oh, Adam Sullivan is a great friend of mine,” Hochul told The Post weeks ago when asked about her relationship to the obscure political operative.

“He helped me win a seat that I was told by everybody, including the leaders of the state party at the time, that I would never win.”

But there were warning signs for years that Sullivan was no longer bringing magic to her political efforts.

Her underperforming gubernatorial campaign last year was preceded by a 2018 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor where she came within single digits of losing to Jumaane Williams, then a member of the New York City Council.

But Hochul nonetheless leaned on Sullivan as she got ready to run for a full term in office after replacing disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo following his resignation in August 2021.

Sullivan then assembled a campaign operation with a record-size war chest, but little New York political experience in top roles like campaign manager while sidelining political allies who warned that Zeldin was gaining ground in the race.

His efforts earned him an estimated $500,000 through a secretive agreement that gave him a cut of the ad buys made by the campaign at his behest, according to the Times.

“He is a tremendous individual and one of my top advisers,” Hochul said weeks ago.

Loyalty was reportedly a big reason why the governor stuck by Sullivan. But the gravy train is ending for the small-town operative as the governor looks to move past a grueling period full of missteps blamed on the adviser.

“I know that New York is in good hands with Governor Hochul at the helm. No one should underestimate what she can and will deliver for New York. And she will do so without me interfering in any way. I look forward to watching her success from afar,” Sullivan said in the letter.

Some people tied to her 2022 campaign, though, say Sullivan was ultimately not the biggest problem.

“I’m a New Yorker. So I only want what’s best for New York. And I do want to see her succeed. But looking at the direction that she’s taken and looking at the advice — where it’s coming from — I don’t know if it’s gonna get better,” one source said.