Hochul, proud leader of New York Democrats, doesn’t care that Eric Adams ditched the party line

Gov. Kathy Hochul has made a lot of political hay over her leadership of the state Democratic Party, emerging triumphant from victories at the congressional level and in other races across the state, and revitalizing the nascent party apparatus in the state. Just don’t ask her to weigh in on the decision of New York City Mayor Eric Adams – a one-time ally once seen as a potential standard bearer for the party on the national stage – to abandon the Democratic line in favor of running as an independent. 

After a federal judge officially dismissed the corruption case against him earlier this week, Adams announced that he would not run in the Democratic primary and would instead petition to appear on the November ballot as an independent. He made a point to say he’s not changing his registration and would remain a Democrat in the voter rolls, but he also was quickly seen alongside conservative influencers after his announcement. 

Asked about Adams’ change of heart – a decision made as he lagged far behind in primary polling, allies abandoned him for other candidates and amid stagnant fundraising – Hochul first tried to brush off the significance of New York’s second most prominent Democrat ditching the party. “One thing I love about my party, we have a lot of different opinions and voices and individuals, and I have to respect all of them,” the governor said in relation to her role as the head of the state Democratic Party.

When City & State pointed out that Adams was no longer running as a member of her party, Hochul deflected. “People do what they need to do,” she said. “I will always run as a Democrat if anybody’s wondering.” 

The apparently flippant attitude belies her role as leader of the state Democratic Party, one that she takes great pride in during election season. She dedicated significant time, money and resources to help the party win back several House seats in 2024 after a disastrous 2022 for which national leaders like Rep. Nancy Pelosi blamed Hochul. She worked alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to support Democratic candidates and priorities, and she built out a state party that for years served mainly as another campaign arm for the governor. “There's never been a governor in New York State that took so seriously the title of leader of the state party,” Hochul declared on CNN last year, one of many cable news appearances she made to tout her efforts.

Hochul seemingly was not wearing that hat when she spoke to reporters on Thursday. She insisted that she has “a lot more to do than worry about who's running for mayor today and tomorrow, (and on) what party line.” Which, admittedly, is true. She’s in the middle of negotiating the state budget, which is now several days late, and the state is anticipating deep federal cuts, among other issues of concern. “I’m not going to stand here and say, ‘Oh my God, he did something else,’” Hochul said of Adams. 

Adams’ decision isn’t the first time this has happened either, a fact that Hochul pointed at as well. She referenced former Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, a former head of the state Democratic Party who defied that same party after losing in a primary in 2021 and ran a write-in campaign against the Democratic nominee India Walton, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. 

Brown’s decision at the time attracted controversy from progressives in the party, especially after state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs declined to endorse the nominee and instead tacitly compared Walton – a Black woman – to Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes. 

Jacobs told City & State that he doesn’t have any thoughts now on Adams’ decision to run for reelection as an independent.