For New York City mayoral candidates, the future can depend on the ranking votes

New York City used a ranking-choice vote in Tuesday's Democratic mayoral primary, which could have a significant impact on the results given the big contrast between the two top-tier broadcast candidates: Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.

Current Mayor Eric Adams is not in the main. The former Democratic Republic still plans to run for the election as an independent mayor on November 4, but appears to have been irreversible damage by allegations of corruption.

Meanwhile, no Republican has taken the mayor seriously since 2007, when former Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the Republican Party. Republicans have settled in their candidate: Curtis Sliwa, founder and broadcast host of The Guardian Angels, who won only 28% of the vote in 2021, in a two-way contest with Adams.

In other words, Democratic primary candidates are a favorite to be the mayor.

For Cuomo, it would be a pretty quick comeback after resigning as governor of New York in 2021. Cuomo denied the allegations but admitted to using outdated or condescending language with women.

He also faces threats of federal prosecutions related to his time as governor.

Mamdani can rise with the help of a strong grassroots movement, but has little experience in leadership to control the metropolis, with an estimated 300,000 municipal employees. In addition, since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, his firm pro-Palestinian remarks have caused uneasiness in some parts of the city, which has caused battle and protests on campus and on campus.

A poll from Emerson College found that Mamdani received two-thirds of the support of those under 50, while Cuomo had a significant advantage among older respondents.

The main voters not only choose a candidate on Tuesday, but also ranked fifth in priority. If no candidate has more than 50% of the preferred votes, these votes can determine the winner.

Supporters of the system say it encourages citizens to invest more in the results and they don’t have to compromise with the best choice.

However, the ranking votes will not be calculated until July 1, and in 2021, there will be multiple ICs in the main process. With distrust of the outcome of the U.S. election, voters may not understand the candidates who seem to have won the first place on election night and will eventually lose if they perform poorly in getting a second or third-choice ballot.

Cuomo: Experienced, controversial

Cuomo, 67, has been in the public eye for more than forty years to help his father, Mario Cuomo, campaign for governor. He then served as housing secretary in Bill Clinton's first administration, and a few days ago the former president recognized him.

Cuomo has more individual donors among retired New Yorkers and residents of some expensive Manhattan communities, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Committee website. Similarly, billionaire Bloomberg has put $8.3 million into a political action committee in support of Cuomo, who said it is the right person to protect New York from the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Cuomo brings a sly style to the table. He has more than three years of experience as state attorney general, followed by a decade of governor.

As governor, he received praise for authoritative and understanding press conferences in the early days of the 199th pandemic, and Trump, as president, made a series of mixed statements, many downplayed the virus.

Cuomo took advantage of good PR by writing a book about leadership courses, but he was later accused of introducing lawmakers to misleading statements about deaths from New York nursing homes in the first year of the pandemic.

The Justice Department in Trump's second term has launched an investigation, although many Cuomo supporters believe it was motivated by hostility between the two men, as other people accused of lying to Congress have not yet been investigated.

Mamdani: Buzzworthy, unproven

Like Trump, Mamdani comes from Queens, which is related to their similarity.

Mamdani, 33, was born in Uganda and is a family of Indian descent who may become the city's first Muslim mayor.

He is also a member of the American Democratic Socialist – not necessarily a deal for New Yorkers, given that the late Mayor David Dinkins was also a member of a while.

Mamdani has four years of experience as a New York state legislator, has run for affordability and cost of living and has provided the idea of ​​free bus transportation for some. Many of his ideas that the editorial board of the New York Times, and others condemned were unrealistic.

He accused Cuomo of using outdated language among the unauthorized immigrant population in New York.

“A unfortunate former governor described undocumented immigration as 'illegal person' not what we need,” Mandani said in an interview with the Bulwark site, also called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “rogue” agency.

Over the past three decades, Mamdani has received more donations than any candidate, and his certificate of progress is undoubtedly recognized by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose districts include part of New York City.

Mamdani is critical of Israeli policy but condemns his anti-Semitism accusations.

Other Democratic candidates

New York City Auditor General Brad Lander has conducted about 10% of the votes in multiple polls in a ballot and may be the go-to choice for many Cuomo or Mamdani voters. Lander, an outspoken rival to Trump's immigration crackdown, was detained by federal agents in the eyes of the public last week.

The other eight major candidates include City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, Hedge Fund Chief Executive Whitney Tilson and former City Auditor General Scott Stringer.

Although the official league has not been announced yet, some lagging candidates say Cuomo is particularly unworthy and should be placed in a situation where the vote is ranked farther or not at all.

“Let's make sure Andrew Cuomo is away from Town Hall,” Rand told WNYC radio on Monday.

Eric Adams?

Adams, a retired police captain, former state legislator and Brooklyn official, was elected as a centrist Democrat in 2021, but three years later he was formally accused of accepting illegal campaign donations and travel discounts and receiving travel discounts from Turkish officials and others. In addition, some members of the Adams administration were involved in other scandals.

Adams' best chance is that whoever wins Cuomo or Mamdani will be so annoying that he can make a comeback on his own, although so far there seems to be no basis for supporting his claim that he is victimized by an unreasonable indictment.

Adams developed a passionate relationship with Trump, especially after both were prosecuted and eventually left the Democrats. The Justice Department decided to drop the case against Adams earlier this year, and a move by the Chairman's Justice was troubled but essentially powerless.

Democrats shouted, claiming that a Quid Quo was working—removing the charges in exchange for cooperation with the Trump administration’s active immigration enforcement and deportation programs. Adams denied that it was.

Cuomo and Mamdani aren't more than agreeing, but everyone says they won't follow Adams' example and will postpone it after assurances to Trump's immigration officials.