2021 New York City mayoral election

An election for the mayor of New York City was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent mayor Bill de Blasio was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Democratic Brooklyn Borough president and former police officer Eric Adams won the election in a landslide, defeating Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Adams became the city's second Black mayor.

Source: Wikipedia

Article

2021 New York City mayoral election

Primary elections took place on June 22, 2021. Rather than the plurality voting of previous primaries, the elections were the first to use ranked-choice voting. Sliwa, founder of Guardian Angels, handily won the Republican primary over New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers founder Fernando Mateo. Polling showed businessman Andrew Yang as the frontrunner as of May 2021, but his lead later shrank as Adams emerged and eventually won in the final round of the Democratic primary over former New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia.

In the general election, Adams maintained a sizable lead over Sliwa and was heavily favored to win. On election day, Adams won easily, receiving 66.99% of the vote to Sliwa's 27.76%. He was sworn in on January 1, 2022.

Background

2021 New York City mayoral election

In the 2017 mayoral election, lncumbent Bill de Blasio was re-elected mayor of New York City for a second term, defeating Republican nominee Nicole Malliotakis. New York City used proportional representation (single transferable voting) from 1937 to 1947. Such a system produced benefits to voters and elected a more diverse city council than had been produced under first-past-the-post voting before and after.

In 2019, New York City voters passed Ballot Question #1 to amend the City Charter to "give voters the choice of ranking up to five candidates in primary and special elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and city council beginning in January 2021". The first election in the city to use ranked-choice voting (Instant-runoff voting) was in the 24th council district in Queens, which took place on February 2, 2021. This was the first time ranked-choice voting was used in the New York City mayoral election.

In 2019, journalists and political commentators predicted several potential 2021 mayoral candidates, including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

By May 2021, thirteen candidates had qualified for the Democratic Party primary, and two for the Republican Party primary. There are also minor party and independent campaigns for the general election in November.

Democratic primary

2021 New York City mayoral election

Polling in late January and early February 2021 showed businessman Andrew Yang as the Democratic primary frontrunner, with Adams in second place and Stringer in third place.

In April, Scott Stringer was accused of sexual abuse by Jean Kim. Stringer denied the allegations, claiming that the relationship had been consensual. In June, a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct.

On May 5, 2021, Politico reported that a recent poll found that Eric Adams was leading the Democratic primary contest; this marked the first time since January that any Democratic candidate other than Yang had led in a public poll. On June 7, Spectrum News reported that Adams had maintained a lead in the Democratic primary.

On July 6, the Associated Press reported that Adams had won the Democratic primary. The Guardian stated that Adams, a "former police captain", had prevailed "after appealing to the political center and promising to strike the right balance between fighting crime and ending racial injustice in policing". An earlier report from The New York Times asserted that Adams had run as a "working-class underdog" and had "hammered away at the message that he was the only candidate who could tackle both crime and police reform".

Nominee

<table><thead><tr><th>Candidate</th><th>Experience</th><th>Announced</th><th>Ref</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Eric Adams</td><td>Borough President, former NY State Senator from the 20th district (2007–2013), former NYPD captain</td><td>November 17, 2020 Archived 2021-12-01 at the Wayback Machine)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Eliminated in primary

• Art Chang, former JPMorgan Chase managing director, founder of NYC Votes • Shaun Donovan, former Director of the US Office of Management and Budget (2014–2017), United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2009–2014), former Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (2004–2008) • Aaron Foldenauer, attorney • Kathryn Garcia, former Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation (2014–2020), former Interim Chair and CEO of the NYC Housing Authority (2019), former Chief Operating Officer of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (2012–2014) • Ray McGuire, former Citigroup executive • Dianne Morales, former social services non-profit CEO, former schoolteacher • Paperboy Love Prince, Brooklyn rapper • Scott Stringer, New York City Comptroller, former Manhattan Borough President (2006–2013), former assemblymember for the 67th district (1993–2005) • Joycelyn Taylor, CEO of TaylorMade Contracting • Maya Wiley, The New School professor, former chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (2016–2017), former counsel to Bill de Blasio, former ACLU and NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney • Isaac Wright Jr., lawyer • Andrew Yang, candidate for President of the United States in (/wiki/2020UnitedStatespresidentialelection), former Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (2015–2017), founder of Venture for America

Write-in candidates who did not qualify for ballot access

• Nickie Kane, web designer, entrepreneur and paralegal student at City University of New York • Eddie Cullen, tech entrepreneur and professor at Purdue University • Thomas Downs, restaurant worker • Guiddalia Emilien, real estate agent and small business owner • Garry Guerrier, paramedic and nurse • Max Kaplan, director of social media at Talent Resources • Barbara Kavovit, CEO of Evergreen Construction and former Real Housewives of New York City cast member • Ira Seidman, data scientist • Ahsan Syed, candidate for NYC Mayor in 2017

Withdrawn

• Michael DeName, former independent US presidential candidate • Rubén Díaz Jr., Bronx Borough President (2009–2021), former NY State Assemblymember (1997–2009) (endorsed Eric Adams) • Quanda S. Francis, president of Sykes Capital Management (withdrew to run as an independent) • Zach Iscol, entrepreneur, United States Marine Corps veteran (running for NYC Comptroller; lost election) • Corey Johnson, Speaker of the NYC Council (2018–present), NYC Councilmember for the 3rd district (2014–present) (running for NYC Comptroller) • Carlos Menchaca, NYC Councilmember for Brooklyn's 38th district (2013–present) (endorsed Andrew Yang) • Julia Qing Reaves, LGBT+ activist • Stephen Bishop Seely, actor • Loree Sutton, former Commissioner of the NYC Department of Veterans' Services (2017–2019), former US Army brigadier general (endorsed Kathryn Garcia)

Declined

• Andy Byford, former president of the NYC Transit Authority (2018–2020) • Melinda Katz, Queens County District Attorney (2020–present), Queens Borough President (2014–2020), NYC Councilmember for the 29th district (2002–2009), NY State Assemblymember for the 28th district (1994–1999) • Melissa Mark-Viverito, former NYC Council Speaker (2014–2017) • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US Representative for New York's 14th congressional district (2019–present) (endorsed Maya Wiley) • Christine Quinn, former NYC Council Speaker (2006–2013) • Max Rose, former US Representative for New York's 11th congressional district (2019–2021) (formed exploratory committee but did not run) • Ritchie Torres, US Representative for New York's 15th congressional district (2021–present) (endorsed Andrew Yang) • Jumaane Williams, NYC Public Advocate (2019–present), former NYC Councilmember for the 45th district (2010–2019) (running for re-election as NYC Public Advocate) (endorsed Maya Wiley) • Jeff Zucker, chairman of Warner Media News & Sports (2019–present)

Results by round

<table><thead><tr><th>2021 New York City mayoral Democratic primary election</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Candidate</td><td>Round 1</td><td>Round 2</td><td>Round 3</td><td>Round 4</td><td>Round 5</td><td>Round 6</td><td>Round 7</td><td>Round 8</td></tr><tr><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td></tr><tr><td>Eric Adams</td><td>289,403</td><td>30.7%</td><td>289,603</td><td>30.8%</td><td>290,055</td><td>30.8%</td><td>291,806</td><td>31.2%</td><td>295,798</td><td>31.7%</td><td>317,092</td><td>34.6%</td><td>354,657</td><td>40.5%</td><td>404,513</td><td>50.4%</td></tr><tr><td>Kathryn Garcia</td><td>184,463</td><td>19.6%</td><td>184,571</td><td>19.6%</td><td>184,669</td><td>19.6%</td><td>186,731</td><td>19.9%</td><td>191,876</td><td>20.5%</td><td>223,634</td><td>24.4%</td><td>266,932</td><td>30.5%</td><td>397,316</td><td>49.6%</td></tr><tr><td>Maya Wiley</td><td>201,127</td><td>21.4%</td><td>201,193</td><td>21.4%</td><td>201,518</td><td>21.4%</td><td>206,013</td><td>22.0%</td><td>209,108</td><td>22.4%</td><td>239,174</td><td>26.1%</td><td>254,728</td><td>29.1%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Yang</td><td>115,130</td><td>12.2%</td><td>115,301</td><td>12.2%</td><td>115,502</td><td>12.3%</td><td>118,808</td><td>12.6%</td><td>121,597</td><td>13.0%</td><td>135,686</td><td>14.8%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Scott Stringer</td><td>51,778</td><td>5.5%</td><td>51,850</td><td>5.5%</td><td>51,951</td><td>5.5%</td><td>53,599</td><td>5.7%</td><td>56,723</td><td>6.1%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Dianne Morales</td><td>26,495</td><td>2.8%</td><td>26,534</td><td>2.8%</td><td>26,645</td><td>2.8%</td><td>30,157</td><td>3.2%</td><td>30,933</td><td>3.3%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Raymond McGuire</td><td>25,242</td><td>2.7%</td><td>25,272</td><td>2.7%</td><td>25,418</td><td>2.7%</td><td>26,361</td><td>2.8%</td><td>27,934</td><td>3.0%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Shaun Donovan</td><td>23,167</td><td>2.5%</td><td>23,189</td><td>2.5%</td><td>23,314</td><td>2.5%</td><td>24,042</td><td>2.6%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Aaron Foldenauer</td><td>7,742</td><td>0.8%</td><td>7,758</td><td>0.8%</td><td>7,819</td><td>0.8%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Art Chang</td><td>7,048</td><td>0.7%</td><td>7,064</td><td>0.8%</td><td>7,093</td><td>0.8%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Paperboy Prince</td><td>3,964</td><td>0.4%</td><td>4,007</td><td>0.4%</td><td>4,060</td><td>0.4%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Joycelyn Taylor</td><td>2,662</td><td>0.3%</td><td>2,683</td><td>0.3%</td><td>2,780</td><td>0.3%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Isaac Wright Jr.</td><td>2,242</td><td>0.2%</td><td>2,254</td><td>0.2%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Write-ins</td><td>1,568</td><td>0.2%</td><td>Eliminated</td></tr><tr><td>Inactive ballots</td><td>0 ballots</td><td>752 ballots</td><td>1,207 ballots</td><td>5,314 ballots</td><td>8,062 ballots</td><td>26,445 ballots</td><td>65,714 ballots</td><td>140,202 ballots</td></tr></tbody></table>

Republican primary

Major candidates

Two candidates appeared on the Republican primary ballot.

<table><thead><tr><th>Candidate</th><th>Experience</th><th>Announced</th><th>Ref</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Fernando Mateo</td><td>Founder of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers</td><td>February 4, 2021 (Website Archived March 10, 2021, at the Wayback Machine)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>Founder of the Guardian Angels Radio talk show host</td><td>March 8, 2020 (Website Archived March 8, 2021, at the Wayback MachineArchived April 22, 2021, at the Wayback Machine)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Sliwa ran on a platform opposing the Defund the Police movement, supporting a property tax overhaul so that wealthy citizens pay more in comparison to working-class residents, keeping in place the Specialized High School Admissions Test while increasing opportunities for vocational training in charter schools, and focusing on fiscal restraint. He also opposes the killing of unwanted animals and supports making all animal shelters no-kill shelters.

Failed to qualify for ballot access

• Abbey Laurel-Smith, businesswoman • Adam Oremland, attorney and social media personality • Bill Pepitone, retired NYPD officer (ran as the candidate for the Conservative Party) • Sara Tirschwell, CFO of Foundation House

Withdrawn

• Cleopatra Fitzgerald, activist • Christopher Scott Krietchman, entrepreneur

Declined

• Nicole Gelinas, fellow at the Manhattan Institute • Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy Giuliani, former special assistant to the president, former associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (ran for governor in (/wiki/2022NewYorkgubernatorialelection)) • Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees • Kelly Kennedy Mack, president of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group • Scherie Murray, businessperson, candidate for NY State Assembly in 2015, candidate for NY District 14 • David B. Samadi, urologist • Eric Ulrich, NYC Councilmember (2009–present)

Opinion polling

<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Fernando Mateo</th><th>Curtis Sliwa</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Emerson College</td><td>Jun 7–8, 2021</td><td>250 (LV)</td><td>± 6.2%</td><td>27%</td><td>33%</td><td>40%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Debates

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Date</th><th>Host</th><th>Moderator</th><th>Link</th><th>Participants</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>Fernando Mateo</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>March 31, 2021</td><td>WABC</td><td>Dominic Carter</td><td>Video</td><td>P</td><td>P</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>June 3, 2021</td><td>PIX11</td><td>Ayana Harry Dan Mannarino Henry Rossoff</td><td>Video</td><td>P</td><td>P</td></tr></tbody></table>

Results

<table><thead><tr><th>Party</th><th>Candidate</th><th>Votes</th><th>%</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>40,794</td><td>67.9</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Fernando Mateo</td><td>16,719</td><td>27.8</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Write-in</td><td>2,536</td><td>4.2</td></tr><tr><td>Total votes</td><td>60,049</td><td>100%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Third parties

Nominee

• Bill Pepitone, retired NYPD officer

Declined

• Deborah Axt, former director of Make the Road New York • Maya Wiley, The New School professor

Nominee

• Quanda S. Francis, Sykes Capital Management President and Accountant

Candidate

• Cathy Rojas, teacher and socialist activist

Declared

• Thomas Downs, activist • Quanda Francis, president of Sykes Capital Management • Christopher Scott Krietchman

General election

Debates

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Date</th><th>Host</th><th>Moderator</th><th>Link</th><th>Participants</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Eric Adams</td><td>Curtis Sliwa</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>October 20, 2021</td><td>Citizens Budget Commission NBC 4 New York New York City Campaign Finance Board New York Urban League Politico Telemundo 47</td><td>Sally Goldenberg Melissa Russo David Ushery Allan Villafaña</td><td></td><td>P</td><td>P</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>October 26, 2021</td><td>ABC 7 Hispanic Federation League of Women Voters NAACP NYS Conference Univision 41</td><td>Dave Evans Bill Ritter Mariela Salgado</td><td></td><td>P</td><td>P</td></tr></tbody></table>

Polling

<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Eric Adams (D)</th><th>Curtis Sliwa (R)</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Emerson College</td><td>October 22–23, 2021</td><td>615 (LV)</td><td>± 3.9%</td><td>61%</td><td>25%</td><td>14%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Results

Results by precinct, overlaid with neighborhoods

Support for Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate Cathy Rojas by State Assembly district: <1% >1% >2% >3% >4% >5% >6% >8%

Though Adams won the election easily in the heavily Democratic city, he received fewer votes than Bill de Blasio in either of his two mayoral runs, and lost many heavily Asian American precincts. This is partly attributed to Sliwa's pledge to halt the construction of homeless shelters which were proposed by Adams to be built in neighborhoods such as Asian-majority Sunset Park. Other issues of importance to Asian American activist leaders included proposed reforms to the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test in high schools, bail reform, and plans to build new jails in neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Manhattan.

<table><thead><tr><th>Party</th><th>Candidate</th><th>Votes</th><th>%</th><th>±%</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Eric Adams</td><td>753,801</td><td>66.99%</td><td>+0.82%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>302,680</td><td>26.90%</td><td>+2.95%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Independent</td><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>9,705</td><td>0.86%</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Total</td><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>312,385</td><td>27.76%</td><td>+0.17%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Socialism and Liberation</td><td>Cathy Rojas</td><td>27,982</td><td>2.49%</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Conservative</td><td>Bill Pepitone</td><td>12,575</td><td>1.12%</td><td>−2.13%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Empowerment</td><td>Quanda S. Francis</td><td>3,792</td><td>0.34%</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Libertarian</td><td>Stacey Prussman</td><td>3,189</td><td>0.28%</td><td>+0.04%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Humanity United</td><td>Raja Flores</td><td>2,387</td><td>0.21%</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Save Our City</td><td>Fernando Mateo</td><td>1,870</td><td>0.17%</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Out Lawbreaker</td><td>Skiboky Stora</td><td>264</td><td>0.02%</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Write-in</td><td>7,013</td><td>0.62%</td><td>+0.15%</td></tr><tr><td>Total votes</td><td>1,125,258</td><td>100.0%</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Democratic hold</td></tr></tbody></table>

By borough

Adams won four boroughs out of five, mirroring the Democratic performances in (/wiki/2013NewYorkCitymayoralelection) and (/wiki/2017NewYorkCitymayoralelection) to win Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Bronx while losing Staten Island. He performed the best in Manhattan, crossing 80% of the vote, and earned more than 70% of the vote in Brooklyn and the Bronx. In contrast, Sliwa performed more strongly in Queens, with slightly more than a third of the vote, and handily defeated Adams in Staten Island, the city's only borough to back Trump in 2020. Manhattan and Staten Island were the only boroughs that swung left from 2017.

<table><thead><tr><th>Candidate</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Brooklyn</td><td>Queens</td><td>Manhattan</td><td>Staten Island</td><td>Bronx</td></tr><tr><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td><td>Votes</td><td>%</td></tr><tr><td>Eric Adams</td><td>239,999</td><td>70.76%</td><td>168,451</td><td>59.79%</td><td>219,045</td><td>80.36%</td><td>30,226</td><td>28.69%</td><td>96,080</td><td>76.01%</td></tr><tr><td>Curtis Sliwa</td><td>77,763</td><td>22.93%</td><td>100,187</td><td>35.56%</td><td>36,668</td><td>13.45%</td><td>69,924</td><td>66.38%</td><td>25,843</td><td>20.45%</td></tr><tr><td>others</td><td>21,429</td><td>6.32%</td><td>13,112</td><td>4.65%</td><td>16,781</td><td>6.16%</td><td>5,194</td><td>4.93%</td><td>4,476</td><td>3.54%</td></tr><tr><td>Total counted votes</td><td>339,191</td><td>100.00%</td><td>281,750</td><td>100.00%</td><td>272,584</td><td>100.00%</td><td>105,344</td><td>100.00%</td><td>126,399</td><td>100.00%</td></tr></tbody></table>

By congressional district

Adams won in 11 districts out of 13, securing more than 80% of the vote in the 13th, 15th and 16th districts in the city's northwest. He also crossed the 70% threshold in six more districts, but underperformed significantly in the Asian-plorality 6th district, where he only beat Sliwa out by 60 votes. Conversely, Sliwa won the 11th district, the city's only one to back Trump in 2020 and the only one to be represented by a Republican; additionally, he outran Adams in the portion of the 3rd district.

<table><thead><tr><th>District</th><th>Adams</th><th>Sliwa</th><th>Representative</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>3rd (part)</td><td>43.1%</td><td>53.4%</td><td>Tom Suozzi</td></tr><tr><td>5th</td><td>78.3%</td><td>19.1%</td><td>Gregory Meeks</td></tr><tr><td>6th</td><td>47.8%</td><td>47.7%</td><td>Grace Meng</td></tr><tr><td>7th</td><td>73.0%</td><td>18.9%</td><td>Nydia Velázquez</td></tr><tr><td>8th</td><td>74.1%</td><td>20.7%</td><td>Hakeem Jeffries</td></tr><tr><td>9th</td><td>77.0%</td><td>66.9%</td><td>Yvette Clarke</td></tr><tr><td>10th</td><td>73.4%</td><td>21.0%</td><td>Jerry Nadler</td></tr><tr><td>11th</td><td>31.5%</td><td>61.5%</td><td>Nicole Malliotakis</td></tr><tr><td>12th</td><td>75.8%</td><td>18.2%</td><td>Carolyn Maloney</td></tr><tr><td>13th</td><td>82.8%</td><td>11.6%</td><td>Adriano Espaillat</td></tr><tr><td>14th</td><td>59.2%</td><td>34.6%</td><td>Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</td></tr><tr><td>15th</td><td>82.9%</td><td>14.0%</td><td>Ritchie Torres</td></tr><tr><td>16th (part)</td><td>81.5%</td><td>15.2%</td><td>Jamaal Bowman</td></tr></tbody></table>