New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced this week that he will be dropping out of the Democratic primary and running as an independent candidate in the 2025 mayoral election in the city.
In a Thursday video shared on X, formerly Twitter, Adams explained that he had initially hoped to “fight” for his values in the upcoming Democratic primary election for mayor of New York City. The Democrat mayor noted that despite over 25,000 New York residents signing his Democratic primary petition, the “dismissal of the bogus case” against him “dragged on too long” and made it “impossible” for him to campaign in the Democratic primary while facing “false accusations.”
“But I’m not a quitter. I’m a New Yorker,” Adams said. “And that is why today, although I am still a Democrat, I am announcing that I will forgo the Democratic primary for mayor and appeal directly to all New Yorkers as an independent candidate in the general election.”
Adams added, “I firmly believe that this city is better served by truly independent leadership, not leaders pulled at by the extremists on the far left or the far right, but instead those rooted in the common middle, the place where the vast majority of New Yorkers are firmly planted.”
Prior to the release of his campaign video on Thursday, Adams told Politico on Monday that he intended to “mount a real independent campaign” after he was “handcuffed” by federal bribery charges in September.
According to Fox News, the federal charges against Adams were dismissed on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho. The charges against Adam had alleged that the Democrat used his position as mayor in exchange for illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals and luxurious travel arrangements.
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“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,” Adams told Politico. “It hurts like hell.”
Both Adams and one of his aides confirmed to Politico that the Democrat mayor is planning on submitting the 3,750 signatures that will be needed for him to appear on the November ballot by May 27.
During Thursday’s video announcement, Adams acknowledged that the accusations brought against him by the federal charges may have “shaken” people’s confidence in him and that people “may rightly have questions” regarding his conduct as mayor.
“And let me be clear, although the charges against me were false, I trusted people I should not have, and I regret that,” Adams said. “But the issues I face are nothing compared to yours.”
