Eric Adams Re-Enters NYC Mayor Race as Independent After Corruption Case Dropped

Just one day after a federal judge permanently dismissed his corruption case, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he is jumping back into the mayoral race not as a Democrat, but as an independent. The move signals both a political rebuke of the far-Left stranglehold on the Democratic Party and a calculated gamble to bypass the party primary altogether.

“I firmly believe that this city is served by truly independent leadership,” Adams said in his announcement video. “Not leaders pulled at by the extremists on the far-Left or the far-Right.”

Adams, who was indicted last year under Biden’s Department of Justice, has long claimed the charges were politically motivated. The feds accused him of accepting travel perks from wealthy Turkish nationals a case that collapsed this week when a federal judge dismissed it 'with prejudice,' preventing the DOJ from refiling the same charges.

U.S. District Judge Dale Ho noted that keeping the door open to refile would have created the “unavoidable perception” that Adams’ freedom depended on how closely he aligned with the Biden administration’s immigration agenda.

Adams’ political resurgence comes just as the 2024 Democratic primary field is being led by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in disgrace amid sexual misconduct allegations, and radical leftist Zohran Mamdani of Queens. With New York’s far-left political establishment circling, Adams likely saw the writing on the wall and decided to circumvent the primary entirely.

This is a major twist in the 2025 New York mayoral election:

• Adams remains a registered Democrat, but now plans to run as an independent in the November general election.

• He now has until May 27 to collect 3,750 additional petitions to qualify for the ballot an easier lift than qualifying for the primary this week.

• According to campaign finance reports, Adams has just $3 million cash on hand, a modest war chest considering the hit his reputation took during the DOJ’s smear campaign.

The mayor’s re-entry also further exposes the Biden administration’s disturbing use of federal law enforcement as a political weapon. Adams’ vocal criticism of Biden’s immigration failures particularly the flood of illegal immigrants overwhelming New York may have made him a target. That’s no coincidence, especially given that he appeared with Trump’s former border czar Tom Homan on Fox News to call for stronger immigration enforcement immediately after the case was dropped.

And now he’s doing what many in the middle have urged for years: breaking free of party control to appeal directly to voters.

Whether Adams can overcome the cloud of his past, the Democrat machine, and a dwindling campaign fund is still unclear. But one thing is certain he’s not going down quietly and he’s not playing by the establishment’s rules anymore.

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