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Adams wins NY Democratic mayoral primary

Karen MatthewsAAP
Eric Adams will be the New York City's second black mayor if he's elected.
Camera IconEric Adams will be the New York City's second black mayor if he's elected. Credit: AP

Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams has won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City after appealing to the political centre and promising to strike the right balance between fighting crime and ending racial injustice in policing.

A former police captain, Adams would be the city's second black mayor if elected.

He triumphed over a large Democratic field in New York's first major race to use preferential voting. Results from the latest tabulations released on Tuesday showed him leading former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia by little more than one percentage point.

Adams said in a statement he was running to "deliver on the promise of this great city for those who are struggling, who are under-served, and who are committed to a safe, fair, affordable future for all New Yorkers".

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The 60-year-old is a moderate Democrat who opposed the "defund the police" movement that arose during last year's national Black Lives Matter protests.

He will be the prohibitive favourite in the general election against Republican Curtis Sliwa. Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one in New York City.

Adams' closest vanquished Democratic rivals included Garcia, who campaigned as a technocrat and proven problem-solver, and former City Hall legal adviser Maya Wiley.

Andrew Yang, a 2020 presidential candidate, was an early favourite but faded in the race.

Voting in the primary ended on June 22. Early returns showed Adams in the lead, but New Yorkers had to wait for tens of thousands of absentee ballots to be counted and for rounds of tabulations done under the new ranked choice system.

The mayoral election is on November 2. Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, was barred by the city charter from seeking a third term.

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