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New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday that he’s running for reelection as an independent—just one day after a federal judge dismissed his pending corruption case.
In an unnecessarily long video posted on X Thursday, Adams claimed that even though 25,000 residents had signed his Democratic petition, the “bogus” case against him “dragged on too long,” making it impossible to mount a serious campaign in what surely would’ve been a brutal primary election for him.
“New Yorkers are strong, and they deserve strong leadership. There isn’t a liberal or conservative way to fix New York. But there is a right way and a wrong way,” he said.
Adams continued to ramble on, insisting that he’s “not a quitter” and somehow still considers himself a Democrat, despite taking the easy way out by running as an independent in the upcoming general election.
“I firmly believe that this city is better served by truly independent leadership,” Adams said, before offering a vague half-apology.
“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 said.
First elected in 2021, Adams was indicted in September 2024 on charges of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud, and two counts of illegally soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign national.
But in February, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice abruptly dropped the case, arguing that prosecuting Adams would interfere with his ability to govern—and, more tellingly, his ability to help Trump carry out his mass deportations.
Now, freed from legal trouble, Adams is shifting to attack mode.
Without naming names, he took veiled shots at his opponents, telling voters to check their records, as some had “advocated against more people, even if they are for them now,” “sought to limit housing production,” or “sat at home and did absolutely nothing.”
His last remark seemed like a clear dig at former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who is leading in most polls.
Adams’s announcement throws an already chaotic race into overdrive. In the deep-blue NYC, the June Democratic primary is typically seen as the real contest, with the winner all but guaranteed victory in November as Democrats outnumber Republicans by six to one.
But desperate to cling to power, Adams is trying to sidestep that reality with his run as an independent. So if Cuomo wins the Democratic primary, it could set up a high-stakes showdown between the two this fall.
A campaign aide told CNN that Adams is on track to submit the 3,750 signatures needed by the end of May to secure a spot on the November ballot. This buys him time to convince voters he’s worth keeping around—but he’s got a steep hill to climb.
A March Data for Progress poll had Cuomo leading among likely Democratic primary voters with 39%, followed by New York State Rep. Zohran Mamdani, who netted 15% of voters. Adams was in a distant fourth place with just 7% support.
Even his opponents aren’t buying Adams’ latest ploy.
“Make no mistake: Eric Adams decided to follow in my footsteps out of desperation, not principle. Since we won’t have a primary, I challenge him to a debate as soon as possible. Buckle in, people,” another independent mayoral candidate, attorney Jim Walden, told NBC News.
In an exclusive interview with Politico, Adams insisted that he still has a “solid base” of support outside of Manhattan, particularly among ethnic minorities. But whether that’s enough to overcome the stench of scandal and ties to Trump remains to be seen.
“I’m in the race to the end. I’m not running on the Democratic line. It’s just not realistic to turn around my numbers and to run a good campaign [from] where we are right now. It hurts like hell,” he said.
You know what else hurts like hell? Watching Adams pull cheap election stunts to hang onto a job he’s clearly not wanted in. Some people just don’t know when to quit.
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