State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein pulled the most-votes victory in the June 24 Democratic primary for New York City Council District 2, receiving just under 40 percent of the vote in the five-person race.
With no candidate surpassing the 50-percent threshold required to win outright, the race will now proceed to ranked-choice tabulation, and with Sarah Batchu and Andrea Gordillo each capturing just over 21 percent of the vote, the outcome technically remains undecided. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who was attempting a political comeback, followed with roughly 10 percent, and Allie Ryan rounded out the field with about 7 percent.
While an upset is mathematically possible through vote redistributions, it would require a near-perfect consolidation of lower-choice rankings behind a single challenger—an unlikely scenario given current margins. Epstein celebrated his lead with supporters at Mary O’s bar in Alphabet City, telling amNY that he had reached “a point where statistics indicated victory.”
Epstein, who currently represents much of the same area in the State Assembly that he would serve on the City Council, was widely considered the favorite heading into the race. His campaign was bolstered by endorsements from Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and several local labor unions.
An advocate for tenants’ rights, climate justice, and disability access, Epstein combined a progressive policy platform with political experience. Perhaps unexpectedly, he may have also seen a boost in name recognition following the recent Saturday Night Live sketch in which comedian John Mulaney joked about Epstein’s unfortunate name resemblance to two of America’s most notorious sex offenders, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.
Although Epstein did not have to face current District 2 Council Member Carlina Rivera, who is term-limited and will leave office at the end of the year, the race was far from uncontested. Epstein faced two strong grassroots campaigns from local community organizers Sarah Batchu and Andrea Gordillo.
Batchu, a nonprofit leader and former vice chair of Community Board 3, who campaigned on a platform of expanding healthcare and housing access, particularly addressing the closing of Beth Israel Hospital and enacting a rent freeze, exceeded expectations, raising over $200,000, the largest amount of any District 3 candidate.
Gordillo, the current chair of Community Board 3 and cultural and arts-space leader, who boasts the highest number of individual donors to any campaign in the race, also campaigned on expanding housing access and addressing the Beth Israel Hospital closing. However, Gordillo focused more than Batchu on culture and addressing those who feel underserved by their local government.
In the end, name recognition seemed to be the major challenge for both candidates when facing off against Epstein. The two may have also struggled to differentiate from one another considering the many similarities in their campaigns and platforms.
Name recognition doesn’t count for everything, however, as proven by Anthony Weiner’s campaign. The disgraced former congressman, who once held national prominence before a series of sexting scandals forced his resignation and later imprisonment, mounted a surprising but ultimately unsuccessful comeback bid. Weiner, now a registered sex offender, attempted to remake his image as a “Common Sense Democrat” advocating for increasing the number of police officers, banning casinos, and eliminating taxes on pet food.