New York City

The major 2021 mayoral contenders

What you need to know about the likely candidates for New York City’s 2021 mayoral race.

New York City comptroller Scott Stringer.

New York City comptroller Scott Stringer. Emily Assiran

By Jeff Coltin

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Of all the mayoral hopefuls, New York City Comptroller and numbers man Scott Stringer has the most in his campaign coffers – but he isn’t the only one laying the groundwork for a run.

Here are the declared and potential 2021 New York City contenders – and how much they’ve raised so far, as of the most recent filing.

Scott Stringer

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Office of the New York City Comptroller

Born: 1960

Home: Financial District, Manhattan

Current job: New York City comptroller

Previous jobs: Manhattan borough president, assemblyman

Fundraising: $2.59 million in 2021 account

Declared? Officially, no

Why he’ll win: Stringer is a political animal, with citywide executive experience, Upper West Side establishment credentials and a progressive track record.

Why he won’t: Stringer doesn’t fit the mold of the insurgent political movement he’s appealing to, and lacks the charisma of his main competitors.

Eric Adams

Born: 1960

Home: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Current job: Brooklyn borough president

Previous jobs: State senator, NYPD officer

Fundraising: $2.29 million in 2021 account

Declared? Verbally yes, officially no

Why he’ll win: Adams, the only major black candidate, is appealing to outer-borough voters with his law enforcement credentials and pragmatic politics.

Why he won’t: Adams has been flying under the radar and doesn’t speak the language of the left that’s politically en vogue.

Ruben Diaz Jr.

Ruben Diaz Jr.
Courtesy the Office of the Bronx Borough President

Born: 1973

Home: Soundview, Bronx

Current job: Bronx borough president

Previous job: Assemblyman

Fundraising: $931,000 in 2021 account, $384,000 in previous accounts 

Declared? Yes

Why he’ll win: Diaz has close ties to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Bronx Democratic machine, and can appeal to Spanish-speaking voters as the only Latino in the race.

Why he won’t: Those Cuomo and machine ties could actually hurt him. Not to mention his gaffe-prone father with the same name.

Corey Johnson

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
Amy Lombard

Born: 1982

Home: Chelsea, Manhattan

Current job: New York City Council speaker

Previous jobs: New York City councilman; Manhattan Community Board 4 chairman

Fundraising: $432,000 in 2021 account

Declared? Officially no, just “exploring”

Why he’ll win: Johnson is full of charisma and big ideas, building allies in a City Council with a growing list of progressive wins.

Why he won’t: No City Council speaker has gone on to win higher office – maybe because it’s easy to make political enemies.

Christine Quinn

Christine Quinn
Photo courtesy SDK Knickerbocker

Born: 1966

Home: Chelsea, Manhattan

Current job: President and CEO at Win, a homeless services provider

Previous job: New York City Council speaker

Fundraising: $263,000 in previous accounts

Declared? No, but she’s reportedly thinking about it

Why she’ll win: There’s an opening for a woman in the race, and Quinn has an intriguing record working to fix homelessness, one of the city’s biggest problems.

Whe she won’t: Quinn couldn’t win in 2013, and her time out of government could make her an even weaker candidate this time around.

 

Editor's note: This post has been updated with more recent fundraising numbers as of July 17, 2019.

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