A Tale of Two Mayors' Races

Not since 1969, has there been such an upheaval by the incumbent Mayor to run for re-election. In that race, Republican Mayor John Lindsay lost the Republican primary to State Senator John Marchi, and former Mayor Robert Wagner lost the Democrat primary to Comptroller Mario Procaccino. Since Lindsay had the Liberal Party endorsement, he ran on that line.

 

That November, John Lindsay won re-election with 42.4% of the vote, beating Procaccini with 34.8% and Marchi with 22.7%. And in New York City, there are always minor candidates who pick up the difference. Shortly after the election, Lindsay became a Democrat.

Fast forward fifty-six years. The current, embattled Democrat Mayor, Eric Adams, faces an insurmountable uphill battle with former Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and a host of other Democrat, leftist candidates for the nomination. He is currently running with single-digit polling numbers, hardly a gnat’s chance to win.

And Guardian Angel founder, radio host Curtis Sliwa, has garnered the Republican Party nomination.

So, now that the corruption charges were dropped and dismissed against him, Mayor Adams, as reported in today’s New York Post, is running now as an Independent.

In a video, he said, “More than 25,000 New Yorkers signed my Democratic primary petition, but the dismissal of the bogus case against me dragged on too long, making it impossible to mount a primary campaign while these false accusations were held over me,” Adams said in the six-minute spiel.

“But I’m not a quitter. I’m a New Yorker,” he continued. “And that is why today, although I am still a Democrat, I am announcing that I will forgo the Democratic primary for mayor and appeal directly to all New Yorkers as an independent candidate in the general election.”

Still, the major shift to the general election, which was first reported by Politico, will be a steep uphill battle to change voters’ minds after a first term marred by scandals and plummeting poll numbers.

It seems he is taking the easy way out, but a lot can happen in the almost seven months until Election Day. Once the dust clears after the primary in June, the voters will have a clearer picture of the remaining candidates to choose from in November.

And in light of the fact that Eric Adams was once a Republican, will he switch back after the election, win of lose? Much like John Lindsay switched in 1969? Lindsay parlayed that move to become a major player in the Democrat Party for a very short time, until he faded into the sunset.

Will that happen to Eric Adams, too? Or will he continue to fight for his political future?

Only time will tell.