With his federal corruption case behind him, Mayor Eric Adams stood on the back steps of Gracie Mansion on Wednesday to defiantly declare he is going to run — and prevail — in the upcoming mayoral race.
“I’m running for re-election and you know what? I’m gonna win,” he said.
It was a striking scene for the Democratic mayoral incumbent, two months ahead of the June primary, and just a day ahead of the deadline for the mayor to submit petitions if he intends to seek the Democratic Party line again.
The extraordinary Trump administration Department of Justice actions to secure the dismissal of Adams’ case while explicitly seeking his cooperation on immigration enforcement ensured he will be able to run free of the criminal charges that have weighed on him since last September — while also handing his opponents in the election ample material to attack him with.
As if to signal his continued allegiance to Trump and his administration, Adams held up a copy of Trump FBI Director Kash Patel’s book “Government Gangsters,” encouraging all New Yorkers to read it.
Patel’s 2023 memoir assails former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller as malevolent “deep state” actors who sought to destroy President Donald Trump.
“In exchange for his freedom, Adams has looked the other way while the federal government detains and disappears New Yorkers, steals money from our city, and wages war on working people,” said Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. “Even the judge in the case agrees: this slimy deal reeks of a quid pro quo with the Trump administration. Adams should resign in disgrace.”
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) speaks outside City Hall about maxing out the amount of public matching funds his campaign is permitted to obtain, March 24, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Some of his opponents are still skeptical Adams will run as a Democrat at all, despite his repeated assurances to the contrary. For months Adams has withheld criticism of Trump and instructed his top aides to do so as well, even as he has served as the Democratic mayor of the largest city in the nation, where voters supported Democratic candidate Kamala Harris overwhelmingly.
“It’s time for Eric Adams to tell us whether he’s in the Democratic primary or not,” former comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer told THE CITY in an interview that Adams should start showing up to forums to debate the issues with other candidates. “The excuses have to come to an end. We’re less than 100 days before this very important primary. Let’s get this on now.”
Like Adams, former governor Cuomo, who is consistently polling ahead of the other candidates, has avoided candidate forums where other Democratic contenders have been sparring over critical issues for voters. Cuomo had not reacted to the dismissal of Adams’ case as of mid-afternoon Wednesday.
But other mayoral candidates quickly responded. “No court decision will make New Yorkers forget that when push came to shove, Eric Adams put his own needs above the city,” Brooklyn State Sen. Zellnor Myrie said in a social media post.
State Senator Zellnor Myrie answers questions in City Hall Park about his mayoral campaign, March 31, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
On X, Comptroller Brad Lander commended Ho for dismissing the mayor’s case but said the decision still shows the mayor “works for Donald Trump, not New Yorkers.”
In a radio appearance Wednesday morning on “Jonesy in the Morning” hours before Judge Ho’s decision came down, Adams insisted he had no intention of running as anything but a Democrat.
“I’m a Democrat. I’m going to be a Democrat. I’m going to run as a Democrat and I’ve said that over and over again,” he said.
Possible Paths
Adams has alternatives if he were to make a last-minute call not to run as a Democrat. He could choose to campaign for mayor as an independent candidate, which would necessitate collecting signatures from registered voters between April 15 and May 27, the deadline for submitting them to the city’s Board of Elections.
In another scenario, Adams could get permission from county Republican Party leaders to run on its ballot line, a maneuver known as Wilson-Pakula — leaders who have said they’re backing repeat candidate Curtis Sliwa. That would have to happen by Monday under state election rules.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Adams had not submitted signed Democratic Party petitions to the Board of Elections, said Vincent Ignizio, a spokesperson for the Board of Elections.
Adams was indicted on corruption charges by federal prosecutors ahead of President Trump’s re-election last fall. In February, federal prosecutors with Trump’s Department of Justice moved to drop the case while seeking his help on immigration enforcement. The move triggered a slew of resignations at the department from officials who refused to carry out the order to seek the dismissal of Adams’ criminal case. Later that week Adams met with Trump “border czar” Tom Homan, promising to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reopen an outpost at Rikers Island.
In a scathing 78-page decision Wednesday, Judge Dale Ho went out of his way to slam the Justice Department’s reasoning for seeking to abandon the prosecution argument against Adams, and rejected Adams’s claim the case against him had been politically motivated for his criticism of Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis.
“Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” the judge wrote.
Still, Ho found the court had no power to compel federal prosecutors to continue the case, or appoint an independent prosecutor to do so. “Some will undoubtedly find today’s decision unsatisfying,” Ho conceded.
As the federal corruption case dragged on, Adams has skipped mayoral forums, and his fundraising efforts have ground to a halt. A core base of key allies, including the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, are now backing Cuomo in the mayoral contest. The city Campaign Finance Board has denied Adams millions of dollars in public matching funds he seeks and his campaign has not taken action to claim the money, THE CITY reported last week.
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