What Does Eric Adams’s Exit From the Democratic Primary Mean for Voters?

Democratic primary voters won’t see the mayor’s name on the ballot in June. He plans to run in the general election in November, when ranked-choice voting is not in use.

Mayor Eric Adams said on Thursday that he will skip the Democratic primary and run for re-election as an independent candidate, adding another unusual twist to an unpredictable mayoral campaign. His decision came one day after a judge dismissed the five-count federal corruption indictment against him, following pressure from the Justice Department under President Trump.

In a six-minute video explaining his decision, Mr. Adams said he was still a Democrat. But he added that “this city is better served by truly independent leadership — not leaders pulled at by the extremists on the far left or the far right.”

Mr. Adams faces a steep climb to another term. His approval rating has fallen to a record low, his threadbare campaign has raised little money and the leaders who were once his most ardent supporters have quietly backed away from him or abandoned him to support former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who has a commanding lead over the Democratic primary field in his comeback bid for mayor.

Mr. Adams will now spend the next several weeks gathering signatures to secure his place on the ballot as an independent. The primary election will be held on June 24, and the general election is on Nov. 4.

Here is what to know about how the mayor’s decision could affect the mayoral primary.

Nine Democrats are challenging Mr. Adams, though none are as close to unseating the mayor as Mr. Cuomo, whose ample name recognition and high-powered fund-raising have fueled his rise to the top of the primary field in nearly every survey of the race. Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens and a social-media-savvy democratic socialist who is building a base of new and younger voters, is the next highest-polling candidate. He is still well behind Mr. Cuomo.