Residents of New York City are heading to the polls today to elect their next mayor – and in what should come as no surprise amid a crime wave not seen since the 1980s, former NYPD captain and president of the Brooklyn Borough, Eric Adams, is the clear frontrunner. Adams is notably smoking former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in the polls – despite Yang’s endorsement by the police Captains Endowment Association.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.
A Monday Ipsos poll also showed Adams in the lead, with Yang in second and former city Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in third. The winner of the Democratic primary is likely to win the November general election.
As Bloomberg notes, “Adams has overtaken Yang in online search interest on the eve of the 13-way Democratic primary for New York City mayor,” adding “Yang is now effectively tied with Wiley for second place in search interest, followed by Garcia and Bronx nonprofit executive Dianne Morales, according to Google Trends.”
Adams was the first choice of 28% of likely voters in a poll conducted June 10-17 by Ipsos. Yang had 20%, Garcia had 15%, Wiley had 13%. The poll showed gains for all four of the top candidates. Stringer was unchanged at 8%. The poll is based on a sample of 2,924 residents, and the credibility interval among likely voters is plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.
On Tuesday, voters will be asked to rank five candidates in order of preference. A candidate must have more than 50% of the vote to win the election. With Adams the first choice for only about a quarter of voters, there is a good chance the second, third and subsequent choices will swing the race, according to Ipsos. -Bloomberg
Adams broke down in tears on early Tuesday, moments after casting his vote in Brooklyn for what he described as a “historical” primary, according to the New York Post, which has endorsed Adams. The former NYPD captain had a huge smile on his face after turning out early to vote with his 25-year-old son Jordan, saying “I feel great!”
Eric Adams gets emotional after voting in ‘historical’ NYC primary. Mayoral front-runner Eric Adams broke down in tears early Tuesday in Brooklyn, moments after he voted in what he described as a “historical” primary for a city at a critical crossroads. #EricAdams Fr:NYPost pic.twitter.com/ZikkEn2eAq
— Terrence Harding (@THRealEstate101) June 22, 2021
But he soon got emotional outside as he spoke to a large group of supporters about how he “took my son’s hand and placed it on my name” — just like his own late mom had done to him in an election in 1977.
“Mom has gone. She transitioned a few months ago at the height of the election, and I never had the time to mourn,” he said, needing to pause several times as he broke down over the recent loss.
After joking how his mom, Dorothy Mae Adams, “loved” all her six children “but adored me,” he recalled how he had been alone with his mother when she died in a hospital bed.
“I held Mommy’s hand … her heart stopped. And we sat there alone,” he said. -NY Post
Nearly 200,000 people voted early over nine days ending Sunday afternoon, according to the city’s board of elections – which pales in comparison to the 1.1 million New Yorkers who voted early in the 2020 presidential election.
Early voting complete! Day 9
•Manhattan – 60,649
•Bronx – 20,590
•Brooklyn – 65,516
•Queens – 35,361
•Staten Island – 9,081
Total Number of Early Voting Check-Ins 191,197
*Unofficial and Cumulative as of close of polls— NYC Board of Elections (@BOENYC) June 20, 2021
Results may not immediately roll in from today’s vote, as New York City will be employ ranked voting for the first time, sparking concerns among candidates and residents for what will most certainly be a lengthy counting process.
“Our simulation suggests the ranking exercise will go all the way to a head-to-head matchup between two candidates before someone gets over the needed 50%+1 threshold,” said Ipsos in a statement.
