Who’s Running Against Mayor Adams? The Answer May Shape Other Key Races.

With Mayor Eric Adams facing several potential primary challengers next year, the political playing field in New York City may soon be gashed wide open — extending beyond the mayoral race.

A former city comptroller and a current state senator have already formed exploratory committees for mayoral campaigns, hoping to capitalize on Mr. Adams’s perceived vulnerability. Another state senator and a former governor are also said to be mulling bids.

But it is the potential candidacy of Brad Lander, the current city comptroller, that would throw the city’s election cycle into full chaos mode.

Mr. Lander, a persistent critic of Mr. Adams, said recently that he was “thinking really seriously” about running for mayor. If he were to do so, that would create another citywide office vacancy for Democrats to fight over.

Two prominent Democrats — Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, and Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president — are likely to run for comptroller if Mr. Lander runs for mayor, according to three people who are familiar with their plans. A third Democrat, Jenifer Rajkumar, a state assemblywoman from Queens who is often at Mr. Adams’s side, announced over the weekend that she was planning to run for comptroller.

“This is unprecedented — to have this many people expected to run for various positions in a year when the mayor is running for re-election,” said Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist. “If you look at the cascading effects and ramifications for several races, this hasn’t happened since term limits were created.”