Eric Adams wins New York’s Democratic mayoral primary

Former police captain Eric Adams on Tuesday won the Democratic mayoral primary with a promise to strike a balance between fighting crime and ending racial injustice, news agency Associated Press reported. Adams edged out runner-up Kathryn Garcia by nearly 8,400 votes. If elected, he would become New York’s second Black mayor.

After the preliminary results were announced, Adams released a statement saying that he was running to deliver on the ‘promise of this great city for those who are struggling’. He said that he was committed to building a safe and affordable future for all New Yorkers.

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Adams, the Brooklyn Borough president, emerged victorious in the first ever use of ranked choice voting in a major race.

The 60-year-old Brooklyn borough president claimed victory after the Board of Elections said he held a lead of one percentage point over nearest rival and fellow moderate Kathryn Garcia.

Adams scored 50.5% of the votes and Garcia, a 51-year-old former sanitation commissioner had 49.5%votes.

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The Associated Press news agency called the election for Adams but Garcia did not immediately concede and several local media remained cautious.

“While there are still some very small amounts of votes to be counted, the results are clear: an historic, diverse, five-borough coalition led by working-class New Yorkers has led us to victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York,’ Adams said in a statement.

Since New York is a Democratic stronghold, the Democratic candidate is virtually guaranteed to win.

Adams ran on a public safety platform after a surge in crime in New York, as in most major US cities, since last summer.