NYC mayor ditches Democratic primary to seek independent bid

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Embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams will forgo the Democratic primary and run for reelection as an independent, adding another twist to a race that was upended last month by the entrance of disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“I am running for mayor in the general election because our city needs endent leadership that understands working people,” Adams announced in a post on X. Adams said in a video message that, despite not entering the Democratic primary, he’s still a Democrat.

The decision to run as an independent and not in the June 24 primary could give Adams time to recover from months of legal battles after he became the first New York City mayor in modern history to be charged with federal crimes.

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On Wednesday, a federal judge permanently dismissed the criminal case against Adams, but the former police captain remains deeply unpopular among voters. A Quinnipiac University poll last month showed his approval rating at the lowest level for a New York mayor in almost three decades.

His reelection campaign had also been virtually nonexistent even as multiple challengers prepared to face him in the primary, including Cuomo, the current front-runner who resigned in 2021 amid multiple charges of sexual harassment. The mayor’s most recent fundraising report showed he’d raised a little more than $18,000 over the last two months, the lowest haul of any candidate running.

“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,” he said in the video.

Adams, 64, also avoided appearing at candidate forums, and several of the prominent local elected officials who backed him in 2021 decided to endorse Cuomo instead.

Adams’ decision to run as an independent gives his campaign more time to gather petitions so he can appear on the ballot. The petitioning deadline for the Democratic primary is Thursday, while candidates running as independents have until May 27 to gather signatures.

Adams was facing significant political headwinds even before late 2023, when the federal probe became public. The city’s finances had been strained by tens of thousands of migrants sent to the city from Texas with Adams implementing – before later reversing – a series of unpopular budget cuts to city services.

In a city where Democrats heavily outnumber registered Republicans, the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary typically goes on to win the general election. But in 1969, Mayor John Lindsay lost the Republican primary as he sought a second term in office. He won the general election on a third-party line.

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