NYC Mayor Adams to endorse Gov. Hochul in Democratic primary

Mayor Adams will endorse Gov. Hochul’s reelection bid, giving her a Big Apple boost two weeks ahead of Election Day in the Democratic primary, an adviser to the mayor said Tuesday.

Adams, who has had a close public relationship with Hochul, will announce his endorsement on Wednesday, said Evan Thies, the adviser.

Hochul holds a commanding lead over two challengers — Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island), a centrist, and city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a progressive — in the primary race, according to opinion polls. Both Suozzi and Williams had sought Adams’ backing.

Hochul is scheduled to join Adams for an “announcement” early Wednesday morning, her campaign said Tuesday evening. Jen Goodman, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the endorsement would be announced in Manhattan.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (left) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (right)

Analysts had expected Adams to support Hochul after he telegraphed in the fall that he planned to back a candidate in the primary.

The governor spoke at his election night party in November, and the two have been aligned on key issues since he took office in January.

Hochul rose to governor in August after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in the face of a mountain of sexual harassment allegations. She is seeking to become the first woman elected governor in her post’s 244-year history.

She and Adams, also a Democrat, have seemed to enjoy touting their warm relationship. Cuomo had a hostile relationship with former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the pair spent much of the past decade sniping at each other.

Voters mark their ballots at Frank McCourt High School, in New York, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Richard Drew/)

Bruce Gyory, a political strategist who served as an adviser to two former Democratic governors, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson, said Tuesday that Adams’ endorsement would be helpful to Hochul, but it “won’t be seen as essential.”

“It doesn’t look like Hochul desperately needs it,” Gyory said. “On the other hand, I think she would greatly appreciate it, and it would be a real implicit blow to Suozzi, who was an early supporter of Adams.”

Adams offered Suozzi a deputy mayor post in the fall. But Suozzi declined, setting his sights on the Executive Mansion.

In an Emerson College poll of the race conducted last week, Hochul led the field with 57% support from voters, Suozzi scored 17%, and Williams picked up 6%. Other internal and public surveys have also shown Hochul far ahead.

Suozzi said in a statement Tuesday: “I still consider Eric Adams a brother, but if he wants to stop surging crime in NYC he will need a new governor in Albany who will fix bail reform. I will.”

Hochul has not successfully pushed lawmakers to change state laws to allow judges to consider “dangerousness” when setting bail, a tweak Adams has called for and Suozzi has supported.

But she has largely aligned herself with Adams on policy, from crime to COVID.

“They’ve been getting along a heck of a lot better than Cuomo and de Blasio did,” Gyory said.