Eric Adams announced Thursday that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for mayor — instead pushing his chips in on a longshot run as an independant candidate.
Hizzoner dropped the bombshell news in a video announcement obtained by The Post — just one day after a federal judge killed his corruption case for good.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Those close to Adams have told The Post that the mayor had been mulling an independent bid to retain his seat in City Hall for weeks as his criminal case dragged out into the spring.
But 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.
“Let me be clear, though the charges against me were false, I trusted people I should not have, and I regret that,” Adam said in the video in a rare admission.
The mayor’s historic criminal case was formally dropped for good on Wednesday with a lengthy ruling from Judge Dale Ho.
Some believe the prolific campaigner can make a “Lazarus-like” political comeback while others believe his goose is cooked.
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