Eric Adams wins the Democratic primary in NYC's mayoral election

Adams, a former police captain would be the city’s second Black mayor if elected.

In New York's first major race using ranked choice voting, he defeated a large Democratic field. The latest tabulations showed that he was ahead of Kathryn Garcia, former city sanitation commissioner, by 8,426 votes. This is just over 1 percentage point.

Adams released a statement, "While there are still a few very small votes to be counted but the results are clear: An historic, diverse and five-borough coalition, led by working-class New Yorkers, has led us to victory at the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York."

He stated that he was running to deliver on the promise of this great place for those who are in need, who are underserved and who are committed towards a safe, fair and affordable future for all New Yorkers.

Adams will be the prohibitive favourite in the general election against Curtis Sliwa (the Republican founder of Guardian Angels). New York City has a 7-to-1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans.

Adams' closest Democratic opponents were Garcia, who ran as a technocrat, proven problem-solver and campaign leader, and Maya Wiley, a former City Hall legal advisor, who enjoyed progressive support, including endorsement by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez.

Andrew Yang, 2020 presidential candidate, was a favorite early on but lost the race.

The primary election was closed on June 22. Although early returns indicated Adams as the winner, New Yorkers had to wait to see tens of thousand of absentee ballots counted. Also, rounds of tabulations under the new ranked-choice system were required.

The system allowed voters to rank up to five candidates as mayor, in order of preference. Candidates who received too few votes to win were removed and the ballots cast were redistributed to the remaining contenders based on voter preference until there were only two left.

It was a bumpy first encounter with the system during a major election. On June 29, as votes were being counted, election officials made a mistake and included 135,000 test ballots . Several hours passed before the incorrect vote totals were corrected by officials.

This mistake did not affect the outcome of the race.

Last week, Wiley, Garcia, and Adams all filed lawsuits seeking to reviewthe ranking choice tally.

Wiley stated Tuesday in a statement that the board must be "completely remade" following "what can only be called a debacle." She also said that her campaign will soon have more to share about "next steps."

Garcia's campaign did not immediately respond to Tuesday's vote total, but she said that she would make a statement Wednesday morning.

Adams, 60, a moderate Democrat, opposed the "defund police" movement.

Adams stated that "We are not going to recover" as a city if there is an increase in violence and gun violence. Adams spoke out after three people, including a 4-year old girl, were wounded and shot in Times Square in May.

It is not enough to be against police abuse if Black lives matter. He told supporters that it must be against violence that's tearing apart our communities the night before the primary.

Adams, however, is a study of contradictions. He has at times been a defender of Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Adams is also a registered Republican but he was also a Democratic state senator who thrived in a world of backroom deals.

Adams often speaks out about his dual identity of a 22-year veteran police officer and a Black man who was subject to police brutality as a teenager. Adams claimed that he was 15 years old when he was beat by police officers.

Adams was a 1984 police officer and rose to the rank captain before he ran for the state Senate in 2006.

He was a police officer and co-founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. This group fought for criminal justice reforms and against racial profiling.

Adams won a seat in the state Senate from Brooklyn in 2006. He made an impression in 2009 with an enthusiastic speech in favor of same-sex marriage rights. This was two years before New York's state legislatures passed a bill for marriage equality.

Adams was also subject to a few controversies. A 2010 report by the state inspector general criticized Adams' oversight of the bidding process for casino gambling at the Aqueduct Racing Track in Queens. Adams had received campaign contributions from a politically connected organization bidding for the gambling franchise.

Adams was elected as the Brooklyn borough president in 2013. This is his current position.

Adams is a vegan and credits his success with reverse diabetes to a plant-based diet. His son Jordan Coleman, 25, is his only child. He shares Jordan with his ex-girlfriend. Tracey Collins is his current partner. She is an educator and holds an administrative position in the city's public schools system.

Journalists asked questions about Adams's home during the race. Adams was born in Brooklyn and he has represented the state Senate in Brooklyn. He also owns real property there. He slept in Brooklyn Borough Hall's office for several months during the pandemic. His opponents pointed out that he also shares a room with his New Jersey partner, Fort Lee.

Adams showed reporters around a Brooklyn basement apartment that he claimed was his primary residence.

Adams is a charismatic speaker, but he has also made some cringeworthy remarks, like his 1993 suggestion that Herman Badillo (a Puerto Rican-born politician) should have married an African-American woman instead of a white, Jewish one.

Adams lamented about the gentrification of the city when he spoke at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration last year.

"Go back to Iowa. Adams stated, "You go back to Ohio." "New York City belongs the people who made it what it is," Adams said.

The city charter forbid Mayor Bill de Blasio (a Democrat) from running for a third term.