Weiner Lost! Spitzer Lost! Hynes Lost! De Blasio Won!: Everything You Need to Know About New York’s Primary Elections You Can Learn From Twitter
- Todd Heisler c/o The New York Times
- Bill De Blasio with his children Dante and Chiara
Every four years, New Yorkers get a chance to have their voices heard in an election. And, no, I’m not talking about presidential elections. We all know that New York is as blue as a state could possibly be, and so the chances of one vote making much of a difference in a national, or even a statewide race are slim. And, in fact, I’m not even talking about the actual mayoral election, because the last really close race hasn’t even been since 2001, and even then the odds that one or two or three hundred votes would sway the outcome were not very good. That’s why primary elections for local races are so important in New York City. This year more than any in recent memory, voters had a chance to make a real difference and have their voices heard. Entrenched, corrupt politicians like Charles Hynes were vulnerable in ways that they never had been before. Disgraced, former politicians like Anthony Weiner, Eliot Spitzer, and Vito Lopez were hellbent on regaining office and voters had the opportunity to let them know that their type of politics had not been missed at all. And city Democrats could finally vote in a primary with some confidence that their candidate will have an excellent chance of being the next mayor of New York. It was all so exciting! But would big changes really happen at the polls? Yes! They would! Lots of great, big things happened last night, and in case you missed it, I’ve got a thorough recap for you right here.