Eric Adams introduced Thursday that he gained’t search the Democratic nomination for mayor and as a substitute run as an unbiased on this fall’s normal election — a transfer that drastically reshapes the dynamic of the race.
Adams, who simply earlier this week claimed he would vie for the Democratic nod, attributed his abrupt shift to Wednesday’s dismissal of his federal corruption indictment, which has nonetheless left him severely politically susceptible.
“The dismissal of the bogus case against me dragged on too long, making it impossible to mount a primary campaign while these false accusations were held over me, but I’m not a quitter, I am a New Yorker, and that is why today, although I am still a Democrat, I am announcing that I will forego the Democratic primary for mayor and appeal directly to all New Yorkers as an independent candidate,” he stated in a pre-recorded video launched by his marketing campaign.
The announcement comes because the embattled Democratic incumbent has confronted important challenges. His approval scores have plummeted to historic lows, his fundraising has all however screeched to a halt, he has little seen marketing campaign infrastructure, and critics and former allies alike have raised issues that he’s beholden to President Trump due to the administration’s profitable efforts to drop his federal corruption indictment.
In his video announcement, Adams maintained that he has accomplished nothing fallacious, however for one of many first instances expressed remorse within the context of his indictment, the primary in opposition to a sitting New York Metropolis mayor in fashionable historical past.
“I know that the accusations leveled against me may have shaken your confidence in me and that you may rightly have questions about my conduct, and let me be clear, although the charges against me were false, I trusted people I should not have, and I regret that,” he stated.
The swap to an unbiased run comes after Adams has fared poorly for months in polls of the Democratic mayoral main set for June 24, usually putting third or fourth in most surveys, a low rating for a sitting mayor.
Operating as an unbiased will give him extra time to each construct up his marketing campaign coffers and persuade voters to assist him within the November election for 4 extra years.
However it additionally units up a four-way normal election between Adams, whoever clinches the Democratic nomination, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and fellow unbiased Jim Walden.
New York Metropolis is deep blue politically, and in latest many years, winners of Democratic mayoral primaries usually go on to turn into the top of Metropolis Corridor. Candidates working on unbiased poll traces have traditionally not fared properly in native citywide elections.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has persistently polled because the front-runner to win the Democratic main, however there are greater than a half dozen different candidates vying for the nomination, too, together with Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander and Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
The mayor had beforehand expressed openness to run as an unbiased, telling reporters earlier this week “as the process moves forward, you’ll see our announcement” when requested whether or not he’s working within the Democratic main.
“When I’m ready to roll out my official reannouncement and my plan, I will do so, and I’m going to make sure all of you are invited to it,” Adams stated at a Metropolis Corridor press convention in March when he was requested if he was contemplating working as an unbiased if he didn’t get sufficient signatures to get on the June main poll.
Adams has flipped occasion affiliation earlier than. Within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, he grew to become a registered Republican, solely to flip again to Democrat within the early 2000s earlier than working efficiently for his first elected place as a state senator representing central Brooklyn.
After his September indictment, Adams tried to cozy as much as Trump by refusing to criticize him, assembly with him a number of instances and even hopping on a last-minute late night time bus to attend his inauguration in January.
It seems that work paid off, not less than in securing the authorized victory for Adams in having his case dismissed, however political observers say that it additionally took successful to his reelection prospects.
“People often say, ‘Well, you know, you don’t sound like a Democrat, you seem that you’ve left the party,’” Adams advised Tucker Carlson throughout a January interview. “No. The party left me.”
Initially Printed: April 3, 2025 at 7:57 AM EDT
