Mayor Eric Adams has been exploring a far-reaching “Hail Mary” political play that could see him claw back his seat at City Hall if shunned by the Dems by running as a Republican — without him actually having to desert his own party, The Post has learned.
Hizzoner has had several conversations in recent weeks about utilizing a state law that would essentially grant him a waiver to run on the GOP line in the general election should he lose the Democratic primary in June, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.
“It’s a Hail Mary in case he doesn’t get the primary nod,” one city Republican official said Thursday.
Under the state’s Wilson-Pakula law, a majority of the city’s five GOP county committees would essentially have to grant Adams permission to appear as their mayoral candidate on the Republican ballot — even though he would still remain a Democrat.
Adams has insisted he has zero plans to switch parties ahead of the mayoral race, telling the Post: “I am not running as a Republican.”
But the embattled mayor has been either speaking to or trying to arrange meetings with multiple GOP officials to try and line up support if his own party chooses to back another candidate in an already crowded primary race, the sources said.
Adams started weighing the potential escape hatch option as doubts swirled about his future at City Hall amid his historic federal corruption case and dismal polling that show him trailing others — notably ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who hasn’t even officially thrown his hat in the ring, according to sources.
While some Republican power brokers are likely to balk at embracing a longtime Dem over one of their own, sources said county bosses would likely play ball if President Trump told them to get on board with an Adams alliance.
“It’s going to take an act of the presidency,” one GOP official said, adding, “And even then it’s not sure.”
Another political pundit said the move would require tactful political maneuvering and even if they pulled it off, didn’t think it would pay off.
“I think they are dreaming,” he said.
Republicans have yet to select a candidate but Curtis Sliwa — the red-bereted founder of the Guardian Angels — officially became a mayoral candidate Thursday.
Sliwa, a GOP firebrand, was said to have already been told that the county chairs would have no choice but to ditch him if Trump gave the word to back the embattled mayor, according to sources.
But another hurdle for Adams is that Republican officials would have to convince Sliwa to exit the race, which he had adamantly told The Post he has no plans in doing.
Among the top GOP officials Adams has already reached out to are Bronx GOP chairman Mike Rendino and Manhattan Republican leader Andrea Catsimatidis, people familiar with their talks said.
Rendino said he received an out-of-the-blue call from Adams Monday during which they discussed how he’d need support from three of the five county leaders to run — or change his registration entirely.
He insisted to The Post that he would oppose supporting Hizzoner under the Wilson-Pakula law.
“If he’s switches to a Republican, he’s a Republican mayor,” he said. “We’d have to see what he and President Trump do before the Republican primary.”
Still, some were skeptical Adams could even pull off such a radical play.
“It’s a very hard win,” a GOP city official said, while another source added, “I don’t see how that has any reality.”
Details of Hizzoner’s apparent longshot efforts to retain his mayoral seat emerged over the past few weeks as he grappled with his political future with his historic criminal case looming and he began cozying up to Trump post-election.
It comes, too, just days after Trump’s Department of Justice ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop its historic corruption case against Adams. As of Thursday, the Manhattan prosecutors have yet to move to kill the charges and the interim chief of the Southern District, Danielle Sassoon, resigned rather than comply.
Democratic strategist Chris Coffey said that Adams could carve out a lane with voters if the Democrats choose a far-left socialist for the November ticket.
“If the candidate is a DSA-aligned, it’s doable — but if it’s a Cuomo or [former city Comptroller Scott] Stringer it’s much, much, much harder,” Coffey said.
“But it still seems like a real stretch and would be done with a budding partnership with Donald Trump,” he continued, noting Dems still outnumber Republicans 8 to 1 despite Trump’s gains in New York City last year.
