He stumbled from the swagger.
Military mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent if he loses the upcoming Democratic primary.
Hizzoner is pretty much missing from the race, and was released on bail on the recent high-profile forum with his challenger, about 100 days until the Primary on June 24th.
Sources nearby the mayor said he's unlikely to campaign while his federal corruption case is handed over his head – Judge Dale Ho continues to weigh whether he agrees to President Trump's Justice Department to stop the charges.
Adams has many reasons. His poll counts are awful for a busy field of challengers, including the scary former governor Andrew Cuomo.
He also has a mountain of debt to fight to fight, as he owes more than $700,000 to his defense lawyer.
“He has a decision,” the source said of Adams if the criminal case is dismissed. “He borrows a lot of money from a lot of people.”
Adams' current political height is a wild contrast to the confident candidate who won the 2021 mayoral election after a prolific and energetic campaign.
He then rode the Gracie Mansion on the promise of bringing “swagger” to the Big Apple after eight years of bumping into Bill de Blasio.
“When the mayor walks SW, the city walks SW,” he was in office for a few days only.
But Swagger had carried Adams so far, especially as his mayor became increasingly scandalous.
The mayor's estate fell as he investigated him and the longtime peers he set up in his administration. And it collapsed in September when he became the first sitting mayor of New York to face federal accusations.
Adams vehemently denied the charges of corruption, increasingly embracing Trump, rumours swirling that he was seeking pardon.
The termination move from the top of the DOJ ultimately passed away in February. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has ordered federal prosecutors Manhattan to drop the case, although he could bring it back after the 2025 mayoral election.
Bove argued that the incident was politically motivated and hampered both Adams' campaign ability to help Trump crack down on immigrants.
But Bove's claims promoted accusations that Adams' lawsuit was removed as part of an inappropriate “Quid Pro Quo” seen by Trump rather than New York City voters.
The subsequent political fires called for Adams to resign or be removed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. He also urged Adams to suspend his reelection campaign. Cuomo and council speaker Adrian Adams have created an opening for mayor to cut support.
Adams' inner circle denies the current state of the mayor's political scope regarding Bove's sloppy firing.
“He could have just cited some laws and the judge would have rubber stamped it,” one source said.
As Adams is waiting for a decision from federal judge Dale Ho about whether to accept the fire, he avoided running campaign events, such as when he suddenly bailed out at a high-profile forum alongside a major democratic challenger.
His reason: His lawyers recommended he not to join.
“He has to do something legal first,” one insider said. “When it's gone, he knows he won't go to prison, so he can go to the full Monty attacking Cuomo.”
However, up until then, Adams' campaign actually doesn't exist.
His campaign doesn't seem to have staff, and his former spokesman, Evan Tees, has not yet been featured in the book.
The mayor recently launched him. 2025 Campaign Website – A single page highlighting that he is a “Democrat” and links to his old 2021 election social media accounts.
These accounts have been dormant since that election. His “Ericadamsfornyc” Instagram account – recently posted in 2023 – identifies him as “mayor next to New York City” and includes the pronoun for “he/he” in his profile.
Adams has raised $4.3 million for his campaign, with $3.1 million available on hand, the record shows. However, he has been denied that favorable public matching funds and other candidates are collecting more money.
He also owes a tidy amount – $730,000 as of January to his defense lawyer.
“At this stage, his path to victory looks very narrow,” said Spencer Kimball, director of Emerson College Poling.
One of the few members of Adams' Inner Source said that he doesn't know where the mayor's heart is about his future.
“To be honest, I don't know what's going to happen,” the source said.
Former Governor David Patterson, who saw the outlook for the 2010 election faded amid the scandal, must compete with Adams trying to run New York City while he was building the ground in his campaign.
He focused on all Democratic mayoral candidates, but Cuomo runs to the left of Adams.
“If he hadn't gone through this hell, he should have worked for his favor,” he said.
Adams was temporarily considering running as a Republican, but is considering running independently if he can't move forward at the primary, sources said.
Kimball, an Emerson poller, said either a Democrat or an independent run would be a tall order for Adams.
“Mayor Adams faces major challenges in this race, particularly in the ranking selection system that makes it difficult for him to integrate broad support to win majority support, especially in the ranking selection system that is a disadvantageous figure of 59% of Democrats in the latest polls,” he said.
“In contrast, former governor Andrew Cuomo, who has received a 55% favor and a 31% disadvantage among former Democrats, is in a strong position to win the second-choice vote.”
Mary Snow, assistant director at Quinnipiac University Poll, was even dull.
“It is impossible to predict the outcome of the NYC mayor's racial outcome, but at this point Mayor Adams faces a difficult path to reelection,” she said.
