NYC Comptroller candidate Corey Johnson snags slew of 2nd choice endorsements
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson won second-choice endorsements from several elected officials Tuesday as his campaign to become the city’s next comptroller entered into the homestretch.
Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) as well as Queens Borough President Donovan Richards all announced they would rank Johnson second.
Under ranked-choice voting, voters have the opportunity to choose five candidates and rank them according to preference. If a candidate wins more than 50% of all votes in the first round of vote tallying, that candidate would win. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in the next round and voters’ second-choice picks would then be considered. That process continues on to third-choice picks and so on until a candidate receives a majority of votes.
Meeks, Meng and Richards all ranked Assemblyman David Weprin as their No. 1 pick.
Johnson, who’s polled ahead of the field in recent voter surveys, also got second-choice nods from Council members Peter Koo, Daneek Miller and Karen Koslowitz, as well as Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, former Gov. David Paterson and Keith Wright, the head of the Manhattan Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, he announced first-choice nods from Council members Debi Rose of Staten Island and Steve Levin of Brooklyn as well.
“In this election, every single vote counts. That’s why I’m so grateful to Congressman Meeks, Congresswoman Meng, Borough President Richards and all my colleagues for announcing they’ll use their ranked-choice ballot to support my campaign for comptroller,” Johnson said. “We’re going to need a broad coalition to make that a reality, which is why I’m so honored to have support from every corner of this city.”
Other candidates for comptroller include state Sens. Brian Benjamin and Kevin Parker, as well as Councilman Brad Lander, former Marine Zach Iscol and journalist Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.
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