Don't Forget Downballot!
A rundown of the non-mayor races to watch—and a reminder of our picks
Want to share abundance recommendations with Election Day voters? Grab some quick pre-made graphics and other relational organizing resources from this folder!
In 27 hours polls will be closed, but that will just be the beginning of the end. (No, we don’t mean that we might have a competitive general election to contend with in November—though we might.) The Board of Elections won’t start running ranked choice vote tabulations until July 1. When it comes to the mayoral race, all we’ll know tomorrow is how many first-place votes each candidate got.
That might seem frustrating, but it’s actually a good thing. New York gives mail voters time for their ballots to reach the BOE, while voters who have made small errors on their ballots have a chance to “cure” them. RCV eliminates candidates with the lowest number of votes before moving to the next round, so the process can’t be run until we can count all the votes each person got.
Having the mayoral race drag on may be daunting—both for voters who are excited to see which top-polling candidate wins (a poll today shows Mamdani eking out a victory in the last round) and for voters who aren’t thrilled by either. Brad Lander had a moment last week, between his arrest by ICE and his endorsement by abundance godfather Ezra Klein; but he’s still a longshot. We’ve had to settle for ongoing debates about whether the disgraced ex-Gov or young DSA member is better for our issues (most recently, Matt Yglesias agreed with us that abundance voters should prefer Mamdani).
What’s gotten lost in the shuffle is that there are many critical races going on below the mayoralty—and that many feature unequivocal abundance champions in leading positions. When your friends who’ve only heard about the top of the ticket ask you what they should know about the rest of their ballots, send them this email.
With over half of the electorate expected to turn out tomorrow, there's still time to make a difference in this election—especially in downballot races. Here's information you can share with the Election Day voters in your life. Let’s win these, so we have something to celebrate tomorrow night!
Comptroller [Race profile to share.]
The Comptroller is the second-most-important citywide role—the CFO for New York. They invest city pension funds, audit city agencies, and approve city contracts. It will be crucial to have a steady hand and big-picture thinker in the office no matter who wins the mayor’s race.
Thankfully we have both in Mark Levine, perhaps the most abundance-minded elected official in New York. Mark was a public school teacher who started a credit union for underbanked New Yorkers before joining the city council and becoming Manhattan Borough President.
Contrary to his main opponent, he’s a stalwart supporter of more housing and for congestion pricing—and he has a detailed plan to leverage pension funds to build 75,000 affordable homes.
Manhattan Borough President [Race profile to share.]
Borough Presidents command no armies and sign no laws, but they have a lot of power over the future of the city. They must weigh in on every land use decision that requires a rezoning—whether it’s a citywide change or one new apartment building. And they appoint Community Board members, deciding whether or not these unelected but highly influential bodies truly reflect the demographics and concerns of their communities.
Manhattan has the only open Borough President race in the city, and Keith Powers is an excellent choice to succeed Mark Levine. Keith has stood up for critical actions—whether bus lanes, resiliency infrastructure, or homeless shelters—even when it was politically expedient to give in. He’s a true advocate for housing abundance and will continue to appoint more diverse Manhattanites to Community Boards.
City Council
The 51-member council is the legislature for the city, and they set New York’s agenda and pass the $100B+ budget. The next council will be a major check on the mayor, whether that means ensuring fiscal responsibility against outsized spending aspirations or pushing for needed change against a desire to maintain the status quo.
All 51 seats will be on the ballot in November, but far fewer have competitive primaries tomorrow. There are five districts we’ll be watching most closely of all:
In District 1 in lower Manhattan, Jess Coleman is challenging incumbent Chris Marte. Marte was the only Manhattan vote against the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and has rallied against congestion pricing. Jess is a lawyer and Community Board member who knows that we can have more than enough of everything we need. He just cross-endorsed with another Marte opponent, Elizabeth Lewinsohn. [District 1 race profile to share.]
In District 2 on the east side of downtown Manhattan, there’s a five-person race to succeed Carlina Rivera. Assemblymember Harvey Epstein and ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner are getting attention in the national press, but Sarah Batchu is doing the work in the district. A nonprofit executive and former city staffer who was Vice Chair of CB3, Sarah has the record and vision to deliver more housing options, more reliable transit, and more sustainable and safe streets to the district. [District 2 race profile to share.]
Further up on the east side, six candidates are running to succeed Keith Powers in District 4. Our pick is Ben Wetzler, a housing policy expert who lives in Stuyvesant Town. He’s offering smart solutions to the city’s problems. Trump donor Bill Ackman is spending to prop up a slate of Ben’s opponents—including one who’s self-financing far beyond the limits of the public financing program—but we think voters will see through it. [District 4 race profile to share.]
In District 14 in the Bronx, Pierina Sanchez is fighting it out for reelection against her predecessor Fernando Cabrera. Pierina was a key ally in getting the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity through the Council, pairing it with the City of All to fund affordable housing commitments and resources for tenants. She’s an excellent member, and it’s a shame that her anti-choice, anti-gay predecessor is seeking his old seat back instead of letting the next generation lead. [District 14 race profile to share.]
In Central Brooklyn, there’s another tough challenge to an incumbent in District 39, with Shahana Hanif facing Brennan Center staffer Maya Kornberg. This race has largely been about international politics, but our support for Shahana hinges on her allyship to abundance advocates in Brooklyn. Not only is she always on the right side of fights to improve the streetscape, but she stood up to NIMBYs to get a critical rezoning passed in the district—creating hundreds of new homes for New Yorkers. [District 39 race profile to share.]
Other: Public Advocate, Manhattan District Attorney, Judges
Voters trudging to the polls tomorrow will find a few other races on their ballots.
In the citywide race for Public Advocate, incumbent Jumaane Williams is facing a longshot challenge from Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. Few think it is likely to be competitive.
An even less competitive primary for Manhattan DA is taking place between incumbent Alvin Bragg and former Bronx prosecutor Patrick Timmins.
Many New Yorkers will have judicial races on their ballots, where the process to fill vacancies is opaque and information on candidates is near-impossible to come by.
Remember, all the high-stakes abundance races can be found in our NYC 2025 Voter Guide at www.nyc2025.com!