NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Eric Adams has reportedly considered running for reelection as a Republican—or even on multiple partly lines—in this year’s mayoral race.
The mayor, who was elected as a moderate Democrat but who was a registered Republican in the 1990s, has privately discussed changing his party affiliation to run in the Republican primary in June, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
He has also reportedly considered running as an independent or on multiple tickets simultaneously, as Michael Bloomberg successfully did in 2009.
According to the report, the mayor has considered changing parties for weeks, but the talk has intensified this week after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against him.
Adams reportedly weighed his options in a call with Bronx Republican Party chairman Mike Rendino, who told Adams he could join the party outright or seek an option where he runs on the Republican ballot line without changing parties.
Rendino said the call ended without a decision by the mayor.
“I am not running as a Republican,” said in a statement responding to the Times story.
While Adams hasn't officially announced any party change, he told Tucker Carlson that the Democratic Party "left me, and it left working-class people."
The mayor faces several challenges as the mayoral race heats up. Among the most pressing is a Friday deadline to change parties for the primaries.
He’ll also have to make his case to Democrats put off by his association with Trump recently, as well as Republicans who have spoken out against many of his policies the past few years.
There’s also the question of whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will enter the race. It seemed increasingly likely before the DOJ’s move to drop charges against Adams. A recent poll found Cuomo outpacing all other candidates for mayor, including Adams, by a significant margin.
Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder who ran against Adams in 2021 and is running again this year as a Republican, said there's concern Trump could push local GOP leaders to support Adams. "Obviously, they all would do it, they’re not going to say no," Sliwa said.