Democrat Eric Adams cruised to an expected victory in Tuesday's mayoral election, becoming just the second African American in history to be mayor of New York City, since David Dinkins, the New York Times reports.
The Brooklyn Borough President was declared the winner of the mayoral race shortly after early results from the city Board of Elections showed him with an overwhelming lead over underdog Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels civilian patrol.
The Mayor-Elect will encounter a series of complex issues as he leads the nation’s largest city. New York is still in recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, burdened with the lack of affordable housing, struggling public schools, and a growing wealth gap.
Adams has been a well-known figure on the New York political scene since winning a State Senate seat that represents Brooklyn back in 2007 and for over 20 years, served in the NYPD, retiring as a captain in 2006.
Taking the stage at the New York Marriott in Brooklyn after polls officially closed, Adams took the stage to “The Champ Is Here” by Jadakiss, his campaign's theme song before delivering his acceptance speech.
“We are so divided right now and we’re missing the beauty of our diversity,” Adams said in his victory speech." Today we take off the intramural jersey and we put on one jersey: Team New York.”
The centerpiece of Adam’s platform was the need for public safety. "We’re not going to just talk about safety,” he declared. “We’re going to have safety in our city.”
Sliwa conceded Tuesday night, informing his supporters that he was “pledging my support to the new mayor Eric Adams.” But he added, “You will have Curtis Sliwa to kick around.”
As Adams’ made history in the mayoral race, Democrat Alvin Bragg was elected Manhattan district attorney on Tuesday, making him the first African American to lead what is considered one of the country's highest-profile prosecutor's offices.
While New York remained a Democratic stronghold, the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey proved to be a different story altogether.
In an upset, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor's race against former Governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, CBS News reported. Also, Phil Murphy is in a virtual tie in the race for governor of New Jersey with Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli.
As of Wednesday morning, batches of votes still have to be tallied in heavily-democratic areas throughout New Jersey.
