New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced that he is running for reelection as an independent in the mayoral race, as he has faced long odds of being able to win as a Democrat.
Observers had been watching for what Adams would do ahead of Thursday’s filing deadline for the race as he had not yet formally submitted his signatures to be on the ballot in the Democratic primary. He previously said he would run as a Democrat and was collecting signatures, but questions lingered.
"I have always put New York’s people before politics and party—and I always will," he said early Thursday in a post on social platform X. "I am running for mayor in the general election because our city needs independent leadership that understands working people."
Adams revealed his plans in an interview on Monday with Politico, which first reported his independent candidacy.
The mayor said in a video posted on X that the "bogus" criminal case against him dragged on too long, causing a primary campaign to be impossible to mount.
"But I'm not a quitter, I'm a New Yorker," he said. "And that is why today, though 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 in the general election."
The news comes a day after a federal judge formally dismissed the corruption case against Adams following the Justice Department’s request in February that the charges be dropped. The case alleged the embattled mayor had for years sought and accepted bribes from wealthy foreign businesspeople and a Turkish government official in exchange for favors.
Adams has maintained his innocence and argued without evidence that the case was politically motivated because of his criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policy.
At the end of brief remarks he gave Wednesday reacting to the case being dropped, Adams responded to a reporter’s question about the election by saying he was running and would win. But with the Democratic primary less than three months away, he had barely taken any public steps to indicate he’s launching a campaign.
The Big Apple mayor hadn’t participated in any forums for Democratic candidates, hadn’t held campaign events and only ...
