NYC Primary: Eric Adams Leads Democratic Mayoral Race In First Round Of Results; Andrew Yang Concedes Early
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- From packed celebrations to some early concessions, there was a little bit of everything on a historic primary night in New York City.
Late Tuesday night, Eric Adams was leading the Democratic mayoral race with 31% of the vote.
"The little guy won today," Adams told supporters Tuesday night. "And so now we stand here in the most important city in the most important country on the globe. What a moment, New York. What a moment ... New York City said, 'Our first choice is Eric Adams.'"
Watch: Democratic Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams Speaks To Supporters
Adams has been very emotional about the campaign, saying he followed his mother's lead and took his son in the voting booth Tuesday so he could touch his father's name on the ballot.
As CBS2's Marcia Kramer reports, Adams has been saying all along that he believed he would come out ahead in the first round of voting, and he did, causing numbers of other candidates to issue early concessions.
NYC PRIMARY: Check The First Round Of Results In NYC's Ranked Choice Democratic Primary
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who was far behind in early returns, conceded about two hours after polls closed and vowed to work with the next mayor.
"I am not going to be the next mayor of New York City based upon the numbers that have come in tonight," Yang said.
Scott Stringer, Ray McGuire and Dianne Morales addressed supporters after polls closed as early returns showed them trailing the front-runners but did not immediately concede.
"I want all my supporters to know that when we know and determine who the next mayor's going to be, we're going to get behind that mayor. We're going to support our mayor. We're going to help build a new government," Stringer said.
"You all have been there every step of the way. I couldn't be more grateful," McGuire said.
There's a tight race for second between Kathryn Garcia, with 20%, and Maya Wiley, with 22%.
"This campaign has been about overcoming expectations. When I got into it, people said, 'Well, I know you would be the best mayor, but I'm just not sure you can win,'" Garcia said.
Watch: Democratic Political Consultant Javier Lacayo Offers Insight On Primary
The big question over the next few weeks is how many first and second place votes Garcia, Wiley and Adams all get.
Historically, of the 429 times when ranked choice voting has been used, the first placed winner in the first round went on to win in all but 15 cases.
Curtis Sliwa, meanwhile, is the projected winner on the Republican side, beating out Fernando Mateo 72% to 28%.
"I have to undo what this part time mayor Bill de Blasio has done to all of us," Sliwa said Tuesday night. "He has taken a wrecking ball to this city that we love."
The actual results of the primary won't be known until the week of July 12 when all absentee and affidavit ballots are counted and all rounds of ranked choice are complete.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
