Mayor Eric Adams of New York City said on Thursday that he would not run for re-election in the Democratic primary in June, an acknowledgment of the growing backlash against his embrace of President Trump and his record-low approval ratings.
Mr. Adams said he would instead run as an independent in the general election in November — an uphill battle in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by six to one.
His announcement comes a day after the five-count federal corruption indictment that he faced was dismissed by a federal judge, following the Trump Justice Department’s decision to abandon the prosecution.
Mr. Adams released a video saying that his case had made it difficult for him to run in the June 24 primary.
“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,” he said.
The collapse of the mayor’s primary campaign was a stunning setback for a charismatic leader who once called himself the “future of the Democratic Party.” But in recent months, as Mr. Adams publicly avoided criticizing Mr. Trump, he began to distance himself from party orthodoxy.
“People often say, ‘You don’t sound like a Democrat. You seem to have left the party,’” Mr. Adams said in a January interview with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News personality. “No, the party left me, and it left working-class people.”
Still, the decision by Mr. Adams to abandon his bid for the Democratic ballot line significantly jeopardizes his hopes for a second term. It was first reported by Politico.
At least nine Democrats are seeking to replace him, including former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who leads in polls. While it may be too early to know how Mr. Adams’s exit will affect the race, Mr. Cuomo’s moderate stances seem closest to Mr. Adams’s.
The mayor’s announcement confirms what had been apparent for months. He had taken few concrete steps to launch a serious campaign. He did not hold campaign events or hire a campaign manager. Two key advisers refused to say if they would join his campaign again. His signature-gathering operation to get on the ballot was limited.
By bowing out now, the mayor will have more time to raise money and prepare for the general election. Indeed, Mr. Adams, in public and private conversations, had long maintained that he still had a path to victory, even contemplating running as a Republican. But as his fund-raising slowed to a crawl and his poll numbers precipitously declined, he began to accept that winning the Democratic primary was unlikely.
Mr. Cuomo has sought to capitalize on Mr. Adams’s fall, securing endorsements and campaign donations from many of the mayor’s allies.
Mr. Adams has started to fiercely attack Mr. Cuomo, and the two men could face each other in the general election, along with Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels and the likely Republican candidate. Jim Walden, a lawyer and former prosecutor, is also planning to run as an independent.
Ruth Messinger, the Democratic nominee for mayor in 1997, said that it would be difficult for Mr. Adams to win in the general election and that the winner of the Democratic primary would probably be the next mayor.
“It’s part of a pattern of Eric focusing on what might be good for Eric,” she said.
Ms. Messinger, who is weighing which of the left-leaning candidates to support, said that forcing voters to choose among Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Adams and Mr. Sliwa would be a “terrifying outcome.”
Mr. Adams had faced a deadline on Thursday to submit petitions to get on the primary ballot. He must still submit petitions to get on the ballot in November, but he will have months to distance himself from the corruption case.
The dismissal appeared to have invigorated Mr. Adams, who spoke with optimism in his first comments after the judge’s decision. Standing outside Gracie Mansion on Wednesday, he sought to assure New Yorkers that he did nothing wrong and was ready to move on. As he left, the mayor told reporters that he would run for a second term and predicted, “I’m going to win.”
The judge’s decision to permanently dismiss his case — without the prospect of the Trump administration bringing back the charges — could help the mayor’s contention that he is not beholden to Mr. Trump during his final months in office.
Ester R. Fuchs, a political science professor at Columbia University and a former adviser to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, said that Mr. Adams had a difficult path ahead.
“It’s nearly impossible to win on an independent line in the general election,” she said. “I don’t see any path to victory for him given the baggage that he has.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.