The decision of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer not to run for mayor in 2013 prompted the remaining four Democratic mayoral hopefuls to offer rationales of how their candidacies would benefit.
How it will actually pan out remains to be seen. What is certain is that there will be a mad dash for endorsements from Mr. Stringer’s powerful allies, especially those from the Upper West Side, and from Mr. Stringer himself.
But some insiders argue that any major endorsers—elected officials, unions, etc.—were unlikely to support Mr. Stringer for mayor anyway, despite their fondness for him or political ties.
One validation in particular will be highly sought after. “Nadler’s endorsement becomes huge,” said one insider, referring to Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the Manhattan Democrat who gave Mr. Stringer his start in politics.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn may seem like the natural second choice for the 6% to 7% of voters who supported Mr. Stringer for mayor in recent polls. But Public Advocate Bill de Blasio,who is positioning himself as the progressive alternative to Ms. Quinn, performed well in Mr. Stringer’s old Upper West Side Assembly district in his 2009 campaign, nabbing twice as many votes there as Mark Green in the Democratic primary run-off for public advocate.
Bill Thompson might not get as big a piece of the vote-rich Upper West Side as Ms. Quinn or Mr. de Blasio, but an adviser predicted Mr. Thompson could pick off liberal Democrats still upset with Ms. Quinn over her decision to allow a vote to overturn the term limits law in 2008. Mr. Stringer’s exit could also “consolidate” the vote north of 96th Street in Manhattan for Mr. Thompson, the only African-American contender, the adviser said. And the former comptroller now has a better chance at winning Jewish voters in the outer boroughs, such as the conservative Jews in Forrest Hills, Queens, or the ultra-orthodox in Brooklyn. (Mr. Stringer had been the only Jewish contender for the Democratic nomination.)
But even now with four candidates in the primary, it is still very much a race for that magical number—40%—to get into a run-off election.
“It’s one [fewer] candidate in the race,” said the Thompson adviser. “That means we’re dividing up the pie among a smaller number of people.”
In statements, Ms. Quinn and Messrs. Thompson, Liu and de Blasio praised Mr. Stringer for his decision. “Scott is a fantastic public servant with an impressive record of accomplishment and will do great things for the city in the future,” Ms. Quinn said.
As former comptroller for the City of New York, I know what the job entails and I know that Scott Stringer would be an exceptional comptroller,” Mr. Thompson said. “His integrity and independence are unquestionable. In addition, Scott will bring the executive leadership, fiscal knowledge and sound judgment to the office of comptroller that he has demonstrated repeatedly throughout his accomplished career in public service.”
“Scott Stringer has a sollid record as a progressive reformer. And his decision now leaves Bill de Blasio as the clear progressive alternative,” said a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio.