The first results coming from New York are Eric Adams, 60, a former African-American policeman, who ran in the Democratic primary for the position of Mayor, who presented himself as the savior of the city from crime, a kind of Rudolph Giuliani (the one of the nineties, for) in a progressive version. On the American night, when 80% of the ballots have been counted, it stands at 31%. The two most distant candidates follow him, almost in pairs: Maya Wiley, 57, lawyer, activist for the defense of civil rights, former adviser to the mayor; Kathrin Garcia, 51, former councilor for sanitation in the outgoing junta led by Bill de Blasio. Wiley, supported by the radical left and in particular by the deputy Alexandria Ocasio Cortes at 21.9%, while Garcia, supported by the more pragmatic liberal wing (as well as from New York Times) at 20.7%. Fourth place for entrepreneur outsider Andrew Yang, 46, 11.6% off
Whoever wins the primary in the Democrat-dominated city is almost certain to overtake the Republican opponent in the general election on November 2. But the electoral mechanism adopted is as complex as it is interesting, because it offers more choice to citizens. Each of the 645,000 voters who showed up yesterday at the polls, plus the 190,000 who voted in advance, by post or in person, could indicate five names, placing them in a row in order of preference. Once the ballot boxes have been emptied and the counting of early voting has also been completed, we will proceed with the second part of the counting: a sort of elimination round. The last arrived is immediately eliminated. But his ballots will be used to distribute the preferences granted by voters to their second choices. And so on, it goes up until the third candidate is also eliminated, until the first in line has reached an absolute majority of the votes. The calendar could run until July 6, with the official results statement scheduled for July 12. However, some signs are clear-cut. Adams is moving beyond the polls, while Garcia’s expected comeback seems to be scaling back.
In theory, radical Wiley would still be in play, but the game of second picks shouldn’t favor her. Almost all the contenders, except Scott Stringer (yesterday 5.3%), are attributable to the more moderate large area. The real unknown could come from the redistribution of the treasure accumulated by Yang, who yesterday immediately recognized the defeat. In recent days, the former presidential candidate has made an alliance with Garcia, evidently aiming for a post-election post. We will see if the former councilor will be able to catch up with Adams, even if almost ten points behind are not few in a race between 13 candidates. In any case, as widely predicted on the eve, a large number of New Yorkers put the alarming growth in crime in the Big Apple on top of the motivations for voting.. It is no coincidence that Adams has filled up in the Bronx (40%) the epicenter of a new wave of violence, and has also achieved excellent results in Queens and, of course, in its stronghold, in Brooklyn. In Manhattan, however, Garcia and Wiley appear more competitive.
June 23, 2021 (change June 23, 2021 | 06:04)
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