Eric Adams Plans To Run On An ‘endantisemitism’ Ballot Line

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams is petitioning to run on an “EndAntiSemitism” ballot line — a choice that highlights one of his few remaining areas of unbridled political support, and attempts to undermine Andrew Cuomo.

The mayor is gathering signatures for two new ballot lines, “EndAntiSemitism” and “Safe&Affordable,” his campaign attorney Vito Pitta confirmed to POLITICO. Adams needs to secure 3,750 signatures from voters by May 27 for each general election ballot line.

“The mayor is clearly making a statement,” said Ezra Friedlander, a Hasidic Jewish political consultant in New York City. The election “is a referendum on the incumbent,” he added, “and on the issue of antisemitism, Eric Adams deserves our praise, full stop.”

Adams’ Orthodox Jewish support helped him win the close Democratic primary in 2021, and he’s remained committed to calling out antisemitism, siding with Israel in its war with Hamas and lambasting protestors who criticize Israel. And though antisemitic hate crimes have risen during his tenure following the attacks on Oct. 7, Adams has kept antisemitism front of mind.

His choice of ballot line is meant to one-up Cuomo, who’s called antisemitism “the most serious and most important issue in his campaign” and is vying for the same voters. If Cuomo wins the Democratic primary, as polls predict, Adams’ path to victory in November would require him to box out the ex-governor in high-turnout neighborhoods. Some of those areas include Orthodox Jewish sections of Brooklyn and Queens.

Candidates can run on multiple lines and the votes on all lines are totaled, similar to how many candidates run on both the Democratic and Working Families Party Lines.

Cuomo, the front-runner in the Democratic primary, has put combatting antisemitism at the forefront of his campaign and is aggressively courting the support of pro-Israel Jews. The former governor has contrasted himself with candidates including Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist Assemblymember who has been harshly critical of Israel.

Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi defended his record on antisemitism, noting that he passed hate crime laws, ordered the state to boycott any companies supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel and funded security upgrades for synagogues and yeshivas.

“New Yorkers are smart,” Azzopardi said, “and they know Andrew Cuomo has the record and the experience to best fight this rise of antisemitic hate that has gripped this city.”

Adams’ campaign spokesperson, Todd Shapiro, did not respond to a request for comment about the ballot line.

After POLITICO asked for comment, Cuomo’s campaign also posted an interview about antisemitism with Hasidic outlet Vos Iz Neias on X.

But Adams’ ballot line is seen as political posturing by some Jewish leaders.

“Jews in New York are tired of antisemitism being politicized,” said Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of the New York Jewish Agenda, an advocacy group representing the city’s liberal Jewish population. “And when they go to the polls, they should be informed about the varying positions that each candidate has, no matter who they are, beyond politicizing our very real pain.”

Adams remains a registered Democrat, but opted out of the party’s primary, following a judge’s recent dismissal of his federal corruption charges at the behest of President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice. His embrace of Trump made his already tough path to reelection even harder as a Democrat. Adams said that the April 2 dismissal didn’t leave him enough time to campaign for the June 24 primary.

Adams told radio station 1010 WINS a few weeks ago that he planned to run on the Safe Street, Affordable City line — an echo of the “Safe Streets, Safe City” program spearheaded by New York City’s first Black mayor, David Dinkins. But Adams didn’t think it through. The city Board of Elections limits party names to 15 characters, as the online publication THE CITY reported. “Safe Street, Affordable City” was far too long.

“Safe&Affordable” and “EndAntiSemitism,” at precisely 15 letters each without normal spacing, make the cut.

Cuomo has also been accused of doing battle by ballot line. Amid tensions with the left-leaning Working Families Party, then-Governor Cuomo created the Women’s Equality Party for his 2014 reelection run.

“It’s not lost on savvy observers,” reporter Liz Benjamin wrote for POLITICO at the time, “that the acronym for the governor’s new party — W.E.P. — is just one letter off from ‘W.F.P.’”