While he may not wish to emulate their accomplishments, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has sparked speculation that he will be following in the footsteps of his last three predecessors and running for President of the United States.
Adams, who was only considered a little over a year into his first term and has rumored to have considered a bid for the presidency in the past, has raised over $1.27 million for his reelection fund in that time, with half of that money coming from out-of-state donors, according to the NYC Campaign Finance Board.
That easily trumps the money raised by former mayors Bill de Blasio ($7,997) and Rudy Giuliani ($719,760), both of whom also ran for president, albeit much later in their tenure.
If Adams were to run despite the continued rise in crime in the Big Apple, he would be fighting against great historical precedent for the position, as no New York City mayor has successfully run for one since John T. Hoffman was elected governor in 1869.
While he may not wish to emulate their accomplishments, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has sparked speculation that he will be following in the footsteps of his last three predecessors and running for President of the United States
In fact, no Big Apple mayor has ever been elected to senior office since 1913, when Ardolph Loges Kline was elected to Congress, despite serving only three months after the previous mayor died at sea.
Approximately $632,636 of Adam’s campaign fund comes from donors outside of upstate New York.
In the last six months, 87 donors have reached the maximum of $2,100 in donations or given him the donation limit.
Adams has notably received over $13,000 from GrubHub officials campaigning to weaken food delivery regulations and $10,000 from Broadway Stages executives.
At the very least, the money raised would make it difficult for a major challenger from Adams’ leftist or a Republican to beat him in 2025. In 2021, Adams raised nearly $9 million in private funds and qualified for an additional $10.1 million through the city’s public matching funds program.
Adams, 61, who once referred to himself as the “Biden of Brooklyn,” has “repeatedly” told confidants that he is considering running for the highest office and believes he can “win,” sources said back in May last year.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Biden himself had reportedly conceded that he would be a single-term president hoping to reunite the U.S. after Donald Trump’s divisive presidency.
Adams, 61, who once referred to himself as the “Biden of Brooklyn,” has “repeatedly” told confidants that he is considering running for the highest office and believes he can “win,” sources said back in May last year
Approximately $632,636 of Adam’s campaign fund comes from donors outside of upstate New York
Adams raised a significant amount more than his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, who raised just over $7,000 in his freshman year
Adams hopes to break the streak of unsuccessful presidential nominees of predecessors de Blasio, Mike Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani (pictured).
But there is no obvious Democratic candidate to replace him as Vice President Kamala Harris’ personal approval ratings are stubbornly low, and Biden is now said to be campaigning for a 2024 run.
During his first five-month term, Adams has pleased many centrist Democrats — and conservatives — by avoiding progressive or extreme positions on economic and social issues.
Adams’ adviser Evan Thies, however, dismissed the rumours, saying: “The mayor has not entered into discussions with anyone about a presidential bid. He is 100 percent focused on bringing down crime, improving New York’s economy and bringing this city back.’
However, the mayor seems to have some support, as Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey told the New York Post: “He’s one of the best-known black elected officials in the country. The play works when Adams makes crime-fighting strides and the President decides not to run. I think he would be crazy not to think about it.’
Even a GOP congressman told the Post he thinks the Big Apple mayor might stand a chance solving the crime that plagues the city that never sleeps.
The statistics paint a bleak picture of the city’s efforts to combat a crime spike since the pandemic — a campaign touted as successful by Mayor Eric Adams several times over the past year
The unidentified lawmaker said: “I said you really have to consider that you’re young enough to have life after mayor and if you solve the crime problem there would be a lot of interest in a big city Democrat, African American with progressive values, but who mediated the crime problem in a big city.’
Seven months later, however, it was revealed that crime in the Big Apple had increased in virtually every category, despite recent claims from Adams.
The data shows that rape, robbery and assault are up from last year as they hit both 2020 and 2021 at record highs not seen in decades.
Rapes — which skyrocketed in 2020 when streets were empty and unemployment was rife due to unrest caused by the coronavirus — rose 7 percent, with more than 120 this year than last year.
Robberies, meanwhile, rose a shocking 20 percent despite recent action by Adams, 62, to increase police presence across the city.
Assaults and robberies across the city, meanwhile, are showing a similarly pronounced increase, with crime up 12 percent – 26,039 incidents this year compared to 22,835 last year – and burglaries up an alarming 25 percent.
All other crime categories – including grand larceny and auto theft – except for homicides, showed similar increases, despite the fact that the pandemic broke out almost three years ago.
The history of New York City mayors running for President
Though he wields great power and control over millions of people, the mayor of New York City was a poisoned chalice to anyone aspiring to higher office.
The last three residents of the Gracie Mansion have very publicly failed in their attempts to move into the White House.
In 2020, two former New York City mayors had to end their campaigns fairly quickly, as both Bill de Blasio and Mike Bloomberg were one of several losers to eventual winner Joe Biden.
In 2008 Rudy Giuliani – long considered a potential favorite – retired after a poor third-place finish in Florida.
Going back even further: In 1972, just a year after his transition from Republican to Democrat, John Lindsay ran briefly and unsuccessfully for the nomination that eventually went to George McGovern.
No Big Apple mayor has ever been elected to senior office since 1913, when Ardolph Loges Kline was elected to Congress, despite serving only three months after the previous mayor died at sea.