After a contentious election cycle, early winners of the citywide polls have begun to emerge. The races are winding down, and New Yorkers are getting a better sense of what the local political landscape will look like in the near future. City&StateNewYork has updated the polling numbers as they are released.
Eric Adams is among those who appear to have come out on top. Adams, currently Brooklyn’s Borough President, has taken a commanding lead in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. As of this article’s publication, Adams holds a 9 point lead over challenger Maya Wiley with 83% of all ballots citywide already accounted for. His strong showing can be explained by the ideologically diverse coalition he assembled. Adams appealed both to moderate Democrats who were taken by his law enforcement background (he served for 20 years as a highly decorated police officer in the NYPD) and to progressives who appreciated his patronage of social causes. Adams was also helped by his overwhelming recognition factor as an already-established New York dignitary. If he ends up winning, he will square off against Republican Curtis Sliwa in November’s general election.
To the chagrin of his supporter base, one-time frontrunner Andrew Yang conceded Tuesday night. Yang announced his campaign in January and charged out of the gate with endorsements from the likes of Congressmembers Grace Meng and Ritchie Torres. However, his adherence to identity politics and his ignorance of issues like 50a – a law pertaining to the transparency of police records – eroded his once-robust base (CNN). Yang managed a paltry fourth in the polls before bowing out.
The Queens Borough President Democratic primary is still too close to call, with incumbent Donovan Richards holding a slim one point lead over Elizabeth Crowley, former City Councilmember representing Western Queens. With just over 95% of ballots tallied, this race could still swing either way.
The City Council contests are also drawing to a close. Among the city’s districts, District 19 is the only one to have hosted competitive primaries for both major parties. Democrat Tony Avella holds a decisive 8 point lead over Richard Lee with 99% of the vote counted, while Vickie Paladino paces the field on the Republican side with 52.7% of the Republican vote. District 20, containing most of Flushing, remains undecided, but Grace Meng associate Sandra Ung leads comfortably by 8 points. Ung, while stopping short of declaring victory for the moment, took to Twitter to thank her supporters, noting that she was “humbled by the support that our campaign has so far received from the community.”
