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'Survivor-style' campaigning comes to New York's race for mayor
PoliticoAfter months of angling, dropping in, dropping out, flirting and fighting, the unwieldy field of candidates for the “second hardest job in America” has taken shape. The next five months will see who emerges as the Democratic candidate for mayor of the nation’s largest city — and the primary will likely be the determining election in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly seven to one.
A top tier of about 10 candidates has started to coalesce out of dozens who have declared a run, with no clear front runner. The city is facing years of fallout from a still-raging pandemic while undergoing a sustained political shift to the left over the past two years, with many voters still weary from a protracted and ugly presidential contest.
And a fundamentally new approach to how those voters choose a nominee — by ranking their top picks — is forcing the candidates to chart an unknown course in campaigning, making history only a limited barometer for how the coming months will unfold.
Andrew Yang, the former presidential hopeful, became the latest big name to throw his hat in the ring this month. He joined a field that already includes long-established elected officials such as City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Wall Street executive Ray McGuire, attorney and MSNBC commentator Maya Wiley, former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales and former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia are among the two dozen or so candidates who have jumped into the ring.
Unlike in primaries past, the candidates may not be tumbling over each other to reach the top spot. Under the city's new ranked-choice voting system, contenders could begin forming coalitions around the issues central to their campaigns — and asking voters to consider supporting some of their competitors.
A top tier of about 10 candidates has started to coalesce out of dozens who have declared a run, with no clear front runner. The city is facing years of fallout from a still-raging pandemic while undergoing a sustained political shift to the left over the past two years, with many voters still weary from a protracted and ugly presidential contest.
And a fundamentally new approach to how those voters choose a nominee — by ranking their top picks — is forcing the candidates to chart an unknown course in campaigning, making history only a limited barometer for how the coming months will unfold.
Andrew Yang, the former presidential hopeful, became the latest big name to throw his hat in the ring this month. He joined a field that already includes long-established elected officials such as City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Wall Street executive Ray McGuire, attorney and MSNBC commentator Maya Wiley, former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales and former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia are among the two dozen or so candidates who have jumped into the ring.
Unlike in primaries past, the candidates may not be tumbling over each other to reach the top spot. Under the city's new ranked-choice voting system, contenders could begin forming coalitions around the issues central to their campaigns — and asking voters to consider supporting some of their competitors.