Eric Adams announces run for New York City mayor as independent

The New York City mayor, Eric Adams, announced on Thursday that he would forgo the Democratic primary for mayor in June and run as an independent candidate in the general election.

The move comes after the federal corruption indictment against Adams was dismissed this week, on the heels of the Trump administration moving to dismiss the charges in February.

In a post on his X account, Adams wrote: “I have always put New York’s people before politics and party – and I always will. I am running for mayor in the general election because our city needs independent leadership that understands working people.”

Adams, who has a record-low approval rating in his current role as mayor. also shared a six-minute long video of him explaining his decision, telling voters: “There isn’t a liberal or conservative way to fix New York. There is a right way and a wrong way and true leaders don’t just know the right path, they have the guts to take it.”

The Democratic pool for mayoral candidates is currently flooded; had he run as a Democrat, Adams would have seen rivals in Adrienne Adams, Andrew Cuomo, Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos, Scott Stringer and potentially others. As an independent, Adams will compete with whomever wins the Democratic primary.

On his legal battles, Adams addressed them in his video post, telling constituents he knew “that the accusations leveled against me may have shaken your confidence in me, that you may rightly have questions about my conduct.

“And let me be clear, although the charges against me are false, I trusted people I should not have. And I regret that. But the issues I face are nothing compared to yours. Rising costs, public safety concerns, deep concerns about the future,” he said.