Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams is considering switching parties and running for reelection as a Republican, according to The New York Times.
The Times, which cited an unnamed Republican official and two people close with Adams, said the mayor has been deliberating for weeks whether to change parties (for the, uh, third time) as polls show him in deep trouble. But conversations about switching parties picked up steam around the time the U.S. Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against Adams.
Adams spoke with Bronx Republican Party Chair Mike Rendino on Monday, per The Times. Separately, Adams connected with the chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party, though it’s unclear whether the race was discussed.
“He just wanted to speak about pleasantries,” Rendino said of his conversation with Adams. “I said, ‘Let’s not beat around the bush, you’re obviously calling for more than that.’”
Rendino said he laid out two paths for the mayor: rejoining the GOP or seeking a waiver from local Republican leaders to run on their ballot line without switching parties.
It’s unclear whether President Donald Trump or his administration are playing a role in the discussions. But it wouldn’t be shocking if Adams’ thank-you to the president for the DOJ’s actions was him returning to the Republican Party. After all, Adams was a registered Republican from 1995 to 2002 before switching over to the Democratic Party. (He also ran in a Democratic primary in 1994.) And while he was under federal indictment for alleged bribery and campaign finance offenses, he played coy about whether he’d rejoin the GOP.
Even before the Justice Department threw him a lifeline, the mayor was playing friendly with the right. In a January interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, Adams alleged that the Democratic Party “left” him.
“People often say, ‘Well, you know, you don’t sound like a Democrat, and you know, you seemed to have left the party,’” Adams told Carlson. “No, the party left me, and it left working-class people.”
Adams has also long been critical of Democratic immigration policies and once accused former President Joe Biden of being too lax when it came to handling migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. At one point, the mayor said the influx of migrants in New York would “destroy” the city.
The Times said Adams remained adamant he plans to run as a Democrat, but it’s not clear the voters who got him into office in 2021 want him anymore.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
According to a third-party poll obtained by Politico in January, 32% of likely Democratic voters named former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as their preferred candidate in the 2025 race.
Former city Comptroller Scott Stringer was second, with 10%. Down at the bottom of the pack was Adams, who was tied with state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, at 6%. At the time, 18% of respondents indicated they were “unsure” of who they would vote for.
It’s telling that New York Democrats prefer Cuomo over Adams. In 2021, Cuomo resigned as governor following the release of a report which alleged he engaged in numerous instances of sexual harassment while in office.
Adams has dismissed the bad polling, but it’s not clear who wants him in office for a second term—even among Republicans.
“I only speak as one Republican elected official in this city, but I don’t see that happening because the mayor is not in line with our policies,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the city’s only Republican member of Congress, told The Times.
The Times said Adams’ situation is rapidly evolving, and he’s even considering possibly running as an independent. The clock is ticking, though. He has until Friday to change his party affiliation.
Back in December, when Adams first toyed with rejoining the GOP, he told voters opposed to that possibility to “cancel” him. Looks like his wish may come true.
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