Eric Adams, the New York mayor, launched his re-election campaign on Thursday, days after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani sent political shockwaves through the New York and national Democratic party by leading in its mayoral nomination for November’s election.
Adams, who did not mount a campaign for the Democratic nomination as his popular support cratered due to a corruption scandal, will now run as an independent candidate. Mamdani’s decisive win against the former governor Andrew Cuomo could see Adams get wider appeal in his, though much will depend on if Cuomo also runs in the November race.
“I will fight for everyday New Yorkers who just want their city to darn work for them,” Adams said at a press conference on the steps of city hall, contrasting himself with Mamdani, whom he attacked as a “silver spoon” socialist.
“It’s a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a silver spoon,” he said. “I’m not interested in slogans, I’m interested in solutions. I don’t work with special interests, I work for the people.”
Adams said his record as mayor stands above the noise of politics, and his record surpasses his critics. “There are some critics who spend more time attacking than achieving. They have a record of tweets, I have a record on the streets, a record of results.”
Adams’ formal entry into the race comes as the city’s business community has reacted harshly to Mamdani’s nomination and policy proposals that include a freeze on rents, free bus services, city-run groceries and higher taxes on the wealthy. They may now shift their support from Cuomo to Adams.
The business community is “struggling to understand the implications of Mamdani’s victory”, Kathy Wylde, CEO of Partnership for New York City, said in an interview with Semafor.
Wylde acknowledged that Mamdani’s focus on affordability tapped into “the financial insecurity young people feel and their anger that the established political class has done nothing to fix it. It’s not an endorsement of socialism but rather a rejection of the status quo, which threatens to bring on the kind of political instability that business hates.”
Adams’ reputation took a beating when he was indicted on federal corruption charges – charges that were later dropped in an apparent deal with the incoming Trump administration. Since Trump returned to the White House, Adams has developed an ever closer political relationship with the US president – dismaying many Democrats.
Adams met with Wall Street business leaders on Wednesday, including Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager, who are considering throwing their weight behind him to try to stall Mamdani, whom Adams called a “snake-oil salesman”.
The support of Wall Street, which was previously backing Cuomo, suggests an alliance between Adams’ base of Black and Jewish voters against Mamdani’s young and wealthy white Brooklyn-based supporters.
Loeb posted to social media, “It’s officially hot commie summer,” after Mamdani’s Tuesday night Democrat party primary win.
In any second term, Adams promised to continue to bring down crime, launch a citywide mental health initiative, advance vocational training and expand affordable housing. He promised that the campaign “is going to be the most interesting political campaign in the history of the city”.
