Why Eric Adams Left the Democratic Party

Matt Vespa | April 04, 2025 6:30 AM

Eric Adams had to do this to fight to the bitter end. The New York City mayor announced he would officially be running for re-election as an independent. Once former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the COVID grim reaper of the Empire State, announced he was entering the race, the Democratic primary was over. As Adams continued to sink in the polls, compounded by his dismal approval ratings, he didn’t have much hope of fending off a challenge by Mr. Cuomo, who slingshotted to the top of the heap (via Fox News):

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he will run his re-election campaign as an independent instead of participating in the Democratic primary.
Adams told Politico on Monday that he wants to "mount a real independent campaign," saying that the federal bribery charges, which have been dismissed, "handcuffed him." The New York City Mayor said he'd be "uninhibited" while campaigning.
"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 said. "It hurts like hell."
Adams faces an uphill battle in his re-election campaign. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on March 1 that he'd be running for New York City mayor.
U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho on Wednesday dismissed federal charges against Adams, which alleged he used his position to receive luxury travel and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish foreign nationals.

The city has been engulfed in chaos since Adams' pre-Trump administration allowed the Big Apple to become invaded by illegal aliens, who were given pre-paid credit cards to boot. Since the 2024 election, he’s changed his tune, partially because he hoped the Trump administration would help him with his legal issues. It reached the point where Gov. Kathy Hochul mulled an unprecedented move where she would invoke her office’s power to remove the mayor.