If at first you don’t succeed…
Mayor Eric Adams is try-trying once more to court docket Large Apple Republicans into supporting his re-election bid — banking on rising fears over socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani’s surging marketing campaign, The Publish has discovered.
Sources stated the mayor himself in addition to his allies have been making calls to GOP bigwigs with a pitch to both ditch their beret-wearing mayoral contender Curtis Sliwa and put Adams on their coveted celebration line — or publicly again his impartial run.
“The Adams campaign is a slapped together group of people who may not like each other but fear a Mamdani mayorship,” stated a supply with information of the average Democrat’s entreaties throughout the aisle.
“Adams is doing a political Rorschach Test saying, ‘If you don’t help me you’re going to be dead.’”
Hizzoner has been personally calling particular person county Republican leaders, who’ve privately voiced assist for the incumbent, to gauge whether or not they’d again him over their presumptive mayoral nominee Sliwa — a probably difficult prospect.
“It’s a smart move, he needs to get them away from Curtis,” a political insider stated.
The supply famous that Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder, possible received’t beat the Democratic major winner — be it frontrunner Andrew Cuomo or Mamdani, who now could be inside placing distance of the ex-gov, based on the most recent polling.
If Adams will get the assist of native GOP bigwigs, “He’ll have a more united front” — made up of a bipartisan coalition of average Democrats and Republicans the operative stated.
“It’s a winning strategy.”
The talks additionally sign concern in Adams’ camp that his run on two impartial celebration strains is doomed.
Adams beforehand got here up empty when he explored the transfer again in February as a political Hail Mary, that The Publish revealed, in case he misplaced the Democratic major — a probable end result, given his rising political alliance with President Trump and controversial dismissal of his federal corruption case.
However Republicans rebuffed the mayor and consolidated assist behind Sliwa, their 2021 candidate who handily misplaced to Adams.
Sources stated Adams is aware of he possible received’t acquire the precise GOP nomination, however can cobble collectively a coalition of conservative and average energy gamers to again him based mostly on their shared concern of Mamdani turning into mayor.
One supply stated Adams even believes that if Mamdani beats Cuomo within the June 24 major, it’ll assist his re-election bid in November’s basic election, giving him a path ahead to go up in opposition to the polarizing lefty candidate.
Adams marketing campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro didn’t deny that the mayor is making overtures to Republicans.
“Mayor Adams is running as an independent leader for all New Yorkers—and that means he’s being supported by both Democrats and Republicans who care about results, not rhetoric,” Shapiro stated in an announcement.
“This election is about leadership, not labels. If the mayor were to enter a primary, he would draw thousands of Republicans and Democrats, just like he did the first time—because people vote for results, not party politics.”
A chippy Sliwa, when requested about Adams’ renewed GOP overtures and try and bigfoot onto the Republican celebration line, vowed he’s “not going anywhere.”
“Eric Adams had his shot to get into a primary and backed down because he knew he would get crushed by me,” Sliwa boasted. “Now he is a man with no party, scrambling to stay relevant with a last ditch effort that is as pathetic as it is desperate.”
Dislodging Sliwa — who has the assist of all 5 GOP county chairs — would even be a tall order underneath an obscure New York election legislation going again to the Forties often called “Wilson Pakula” that goals to cease celebration leaping.
The one means underneath the legislation for Adams to tug a switcheroo with Sliwa might be for the pink beret-wearing Guardian Angels founder to die, be named a decide or transfer out of New York Metropolis — along with gaining the backing of Republican county chairs.
Insiders stated the GOP leaders all like Adams — who was a registered Republican from 1997 to 2001 earlier than switching again to the Democrats — however don’t see Sliwa going together with any swap, barring an act from Trump.
“Trump would have to line up a job for Curtis,” one supply stated.
Adams has maintained he’s nonetheless a Democrat, albeit one ditched by the leftward flip of his celebration.
Adams additionally has continued to cozy as much as Trump, together with this week as he adopted within the cryptocurrency-friendly, golf-loving president’s footsteps by attending a Las Vegas crypto convention and name-dropping the vp.
“In my conclusion, Vice President Vance said something that you should all listen to, we must be part of the political strength in our country,” Adams informed the gang
“In golf, they say you drive for show but you putt for dough,” he added, stumbling over the golf reference.
