No one will call a contest for the mayor of New York City this year, and it is a foregone conclusion – there is no shameful former governor, a surge in Democratic socialist and incumbent incumbent fighting against corruption.
But on Thursday, it entered completely unknown territory.
The main reason is Mayor Eric Adams, who just liberated from a criminal case, announced in surprise that he would abandon the Democratic primary and run as a political independent this fall.
The decision was a pragmatic next step, and for a politician who exaggeratedly courted President Trump and his Maga Base, angering his party as he sought a way out of the dangerous legal situation. It will only take several hours for candidates to publish thousands of petitions to participate in the June primary election.
But Mr. Adams’s opponent wasted very little time trying to take advantage of it. A seductive dream campaign – “Don’t rank for Eric or Andrew for mayors” attempting to convince voters to leave Mr. Adams and former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, the second-ranked vote quickly changed its name to reflect its current mission: “Don’t rank the evil Andrew as mayor.”
One Democratic candidate is state Senator Zellnor Myrie, who cuts a video to use himself as an antidote to political chaos. Jim Walden runs for independent center lawyers and quickly challenges the mayor to debate.
New York City candidates have a long history of holding parties or moving forward Third-party voting line – sometimes successful. However, few candidates have done this by chance like Mr. Adams, a former Republican, who recently insisted on Wednesday that he still plans to run as a Democrat.
Some experienced political analysts confidently predicted that in cities where Democrats had more than six to one, Mr. Adams’ job approval rating dropped to record lows, and his final result had little impact.
“He wouldn’t be re-elected yesterday, nor would he be today,” said Howard Wolfson, a Democratic strategist and former deputy mayor. “His campaign doesn’t matter. ”
But Mr. Adams’s decision at least raised the possibility that the city could move towards any free-ride, multiple general elections that had seen since 1977. Mario M.
In this case, it becomes easier to imagine a scenario where as many as six candidates are still competing in November. They could include Mr. Adams; Andrew Cuomo, who leads the Democratic primary school field; Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa; and Mr. Walden.
The left-leaning working family gathering is a famous enemy of Mr. Cuomo, and the option to offer his election voting line to a liberal in the competition and Mr. Cuomo’s competitor.
The group has recognized four candidates, including Zohran Mamdani, a member of Queens, who has been supported by Democratic Socialists in the United States. Brad Lander, city auditor general; city council president Adrienne Adams; and state Senator Myrie from Brooklyn.
Ana María Archila, co-director of the New York Working Family Party, said the party has taken steps to operate a status candidate to retain its voting line in the general election as it awaits the main results of the Democratic Party.
The party can later replace the person with a different candidate, which may depend on who wins the Democratic primary.
“If one of our people is really close in the Democratic primary, it could be the natural path,” Ms. Akira said.
If Mr. Cuomo eventually wins the primary, she said: “It will be a big factor for us” and decided to hire the other candidate in November.
Amid the commotion, Mr. Adams is expected to face problems as a candidate for the first time at a forum hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton on Tuesday afternoon. The event’s support for how the mayor plans to win support from New Yorkers who have broadly opposed his performance in his work, and his rivals will seek to portray his decision to withdraw from the Democratic junior game.
Manhattan Democratic Chairman Keith Lt Wright said he would support the Democratic candidate in the general election, but it was too early to write down Mr. Adams.
“There is still a person who is loyal to him, in the general election, who they know,” he said. “Anomalies should get the strategy of abnormality. In different situations, this is done in different situations.”
Mr. Sliwa won nearly 30% of the city-wide vote against Mr. Adams in 2021, and he apparently took root in the mayor for independence. He said in an interview that Democrats were “on each other’s throats” and predicted that they could split their share of the vote.
“That’s like the semifinals in basketball,” he said. “It’s a jump ball.”
In the short term, the impact on the June Democratic primary seems to be simpler. Even before Thursday’s decision, Mr. Adams had been terrible in the polls and was not expected to win.
Mr. Cuomo’s allies insist that he would better consolidate the remaining of Mr. Adams’ working-class black and Latino base. But the mayor’s exit from the main competition could also clear the lane of solitary attacks on Mr. Cuomo and provide new vacancies for Democrats to attract voters’ attention.
After Mr. Adams won a long probation in his legal case, he expressed newfound optimism about his candidacy. He told Politico that he would continue to be a Democrat through party affiliation and try to unite the base that drove him to win in 2021.
“I’ve always been a horse racing,” he said. “It’s unnatural for me.”
But if Mr. Adams continues to turn right, he can compete further for the game. This may alienate his traditional supporters, but in theory he can compete for independent and Republican voters, especially if Trump lends him support.
The two men courted each other for several months. After a judge ruled that the case against Mr. Adams was dismissed Wednesday, the mayor lifted a copy of the book, attacking the federal “deep state” written by Mr. Trump’s FBI director Kash Patel and urged New Yorkers to read.
Mr. Adams has a few weeks to collect petitions for qualifying as independent voting.
But his rebooted campaign was tied up with staff and money and started a tough start. Mr. Adams was a show on Thursday morning for a live TV interview after his team confirmed his appearance.
