2021 Manhattan District Attorney election

2021 Manhattan District Attorney election

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Candidate Alvin Bragg Thomas Kenniff Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 211,686 41,211 Percentage 83.6% 16.3%

Results by state assembly district Results by precinct Bragg:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Kenniff:     50–60% Tie:     50%     No votes

District Attorney before election Cyrus Vance Jr. Democratic Elected District Attorney Alvin Bragg Democratic

The 2021 Manhattan District Attorney election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the Manhattan District Attorney. The incumbent, Cyrus Vance Jr., had announced in March 2021 that he would not seek a fourth term. ^[1]

The Democratic primary election was held on June 22, 2021. Despite the introduction of ranked-choice voting for other elected positions in New York City, this race used plurality voting, as it is a state position, rather than a city position. ^[2]

A key issue in the election was which candidate would be best equipped to criminally prosecute or civilly sue former President Donald Trump. ^{[3] [4]}

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Tahanie Aboushi, civil rights attorney ^[2]
• Alvin Bragg, former New York State Chief Deputy Attorney General and former federal prosecutor ^[2]
• Liz Crotty, former Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan ^[2]
• Tali Farhadian Weinstein, former federal prosecutor ^[2]
• Diana Florence, former prosecutor for the Manhattan Attorney General's office ^[2]
• Lucy Lang, former assistant attorney general for Manhattan ^[2]
• Eliza Orlins, public defender, former contestant on Survivor and The Amazing Race ^[2]
• Dan Quart, New York State Assemblymember for the 73rd district (2011–present) ^[2]

Endorsements

Tahanie Aboushi

U.S. senators

• Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont since 2007 ^[5]

U.S. representatives

• Jamaal Bowman, U.S. Representative for New York's 16th congressional district since 2021 ^[5]
• Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district since 2019 ^[5]

Local officials

• Justin Brannan, member of the New York City Council from the 43rd district since 2018 ^[5]
• Jumaane Williams, New York City Public Advocate since 2019 ^[5]

State senators

• Jabari Brisport, member of the New York State Senate from the 25th district since 2019 ^[5]
• Jessica Ramos, member of the New York State Senate from the 13th district since 2019 ^[5]
• Gustavo Rivera, member of the New York State Senate from the 33rd district since 2011 ^[5]

State assemblymembers

• Zohran Mamdani, member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district since 2021 ^[5]
• Marcela Mitaynes, member of the New York State Assembly from the 51st district since 2021 ^[5]
• Yuh-Line Niou, member of the New York State Assembly from the 65th district since 2017 ^[5]

Individuals

• Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for governor of Michigan in 2018 ^[5]
• Melissa Mark-Viverito, former Speaker of the New York City Council ^[5]
• Cynthia Nixon, actress and activist, candidate for governor of New York in 2018 ^[5]
• Linda Sarsour, civil rights activist ^[5]

Organizations

• Citizen Action of New York ^[5]
• Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club ^[5]
• Real Justice PAC ^[5]
• Moms Demand Action ^[5]
• Progressive Change Campaign Committee (second choice) ^[6]
• Working Families Party ^[5]

Labor unions

• UNITE HERE Local 100 ^[5]

Alvin Bragg

Federal legislators

• Gregory Meeks, U.S. Representative for New York's 5th congressional district since 1998 ^[7]
• Jerry Nadler, U.S. Representative for New York's 10th congressional district since 1992 ^[8]

State senators

• Robert Jackson, member of the New York State Senate from the 31st district since 2019 ^[8]

State assemblymembers

• Inez Dickens, member of the New York State Assembly from the 70th district since 2021 ^[8]
• Al Taylor, member of the New York State Assembly from the 71st district since 2021 ^[8]

Individuals

• Harry Belafonte, singer and activist ^[8]
• Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York ^[8]
• Gwen Carr, activist, mother of Eric Garner ^[8]
• Hazel Dukes, former national president of the NAACP ^[8]
• C. Virginia Fields, former Manhattan Borough President ^[8]
• Dan Garodnick, former New York City Councilmember ^[8]
• Dan Goldman, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (2007–2017), former general counsel for the U.S. House Intelligence Committee (2019–2020) ^[9]
• Renée Elise Goldsberry, actress and singer/songwriter ^[8]
• Elizabeth Holtzman, former New York City Comptroller, former Brooklyn District Attorney, former U.S. Representative for New York's 16th congressional district ^[8]
• John Legend, singer ^[10]
• David Paterson, 55th Governor of New York (2008–2010), former Lieutenant Governor of New York (2007–2008), former State Senator (1985–2006) ^[8]
• Christine Quinn, former Speaker of the New York City Council ^[8]
• Charles Rangel, former U.S. Representative for New York's 13th congressional district ^[8]
• Rachael Rollins, District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts ^[11]
• Yusef Salaam, member of the Central Park Five ^[8]
• Zephyr Teachout, attorney and law professor, candidate for governor of New York in 2014 and attorney general of New York in 2018 ^[8]

Organizations

• Color of Change PAC ^[8]
• Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund ^[8]

Labor unions

• 1199 SEIU ^[8]
• 32BJ SEIU ^[8]
• Communications Workers of America Local 1180 ^[8]
• Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union ^[8]
• United Federation of Teachers ^[8]

Tali Farhadian Weinstein

Executive branch officials

• Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State ^[12]
• Eric Holder, former U.S. Attorney General ^[12]

U.S. representatives

• Adriano Espaillat, U.S. Representative for New York's 13th congressional district since 2017 ^[12]
• Ritchie Torres, U.S. Representative for New York's 15th congressional district since 2021 ^[12]
• Nydia Velázquez, U.S. Representative for New York's 7th congressional district since 1993 ^[12]

Individuals

• Carol Bellamy, former President of the New York City Council ^[12]
• Ben Jealous, former President of the NAACP ^[12]
• Robbie Kaplan, lawyer, co-founder of Time's Up ^[12]
• Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan Borough President ^[12]
• Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author and activist ^[12]
• Gloria Steinem, activist ^[12]

Newspapers

• New York Daily News ^[12]
• New York Post ^[12]

Diana Florence

Labor unions

• Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 ^[13]
• International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers New York State District Council & Local 361 ^[13]
• International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 12 ^[13]
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 ^[13]
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 16 & Local 282 ^[13]
• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1 & Local 7 ^[13]
• International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 1 ^[13]
• International Union of Operating Engineers NYC Coalition ^[13]
• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 9 ^[13]
• Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association Local Union 262 & Local Union 780 ^[13]
• Sheet Metal Workers' International Association Local 28 ^[13]

Lucy Lang

Individuals

• Rosanna Arquette, actor and director ^[14]
• Valerie Bell, activist and mother of Sean Bell ^[14]
• Valerie Castile, activist and mother of Philando Castile ^[14]

Eliza Orlins

Individuals

• Rabia Chaudry, attorney and author ^[15]
• Charlotte Clymer, activist and author ^[15]
• Simran Jeet Singh, activist and writer ^[15]

Organizations

• Progressive Change Campaign Committee (first choice) ^[6]

Labor unions

• United Auto Workers Region 9A ^[15]

Dan Quart

U.S. representatives

• Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 12th congressional district since 1993 ^[16]

Local officials

• Diana Ayala, member of the New York City Council from the 8th district since 2018 ^[16]

State senators

• John Liu, member of the New York State Senate from the 11th district since 2019 ^[16]
• José M. Serrano, member of the New York State Senate from the 29th district since 2019 ^[16]

State assemblymembers

• Harvey Epstein, member of the New York State Assembly from the 74th district since 2018 ^[16]
• Ron Kim, member of the New York State Assembly from the 40th district since 2013 ^[16]
• Robert J. Rodriguez, member of the New York State Assembly from the 68th district since 2011 ^[16]
• Carmen De La Rosa, member of the New York State Assembly from the 72nd district since 2017 ^[16]
• Rebecca Seawright, member of the New York State Assembly from the 76th district since 2015 ^[16]

Individuals

• Michael Blake, former member of the New York State Assembly from the 79th district ^[16]
• Jeffrey Mark Deskovic, activist ^[16]
• Mark Green, former New York City Public Advocate ^[16]
• Aravella Simotas, former member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district since 2013 ^[16]
• Thomas Sung, founder of Abacus Federal Savings Bank ^[16]
• Michael K. Williams, actor ^[16]

Organizations

• National Association of Social Workers ^[16]
• Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City ^[16]

Labor unions

• Communications Workers of America Local 1101 ^[16]
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 1 ^[16]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tahanie Aboushi	Alvin Bragg	Liz Crotty	Tali Farhadian Weinstein	Diana Florence	Lucy Lang	Eliza Orlins	Dan Quart	Other	Undecided
Data For Progress (D) [17]	June 9–16, 2021	451 (LV)	± 5.0%	10%	34%	2%	25%	1%	6%	3%	6%	14% [a]	–
Benenson Strategy Group (D) [18] [b]	April 16–21, 2021	390 (LV)	–	5%	6%	2%	16%	5%	12%	4%	3%	3%	44%

Results

Bragg   20–30%   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

Weinstein   20–30%   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%

Aboushi   20–30%   30–40%   50–60%

Lang   20–30%   30–40%   40–50%   90–100%

Florence   20–30%   30–40%

Quart   20–30%

Other   20-30% tie   30-40% tie   40-50% tie   No votes

Results by Precinct

Democratic primary for the 2021 Manhattan district attorney election ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alvin Bragg	85,720	34.2%
	Democratic	Tali Farhadian Weinstein	76,892	30.7%
	Democratic	Tahanie Aboushi	27,458	11.0%
	Democratic	Lucy Lang	18,910	7.5%
	Democratic	Diana Florence	12,246	4.9%
	Democratic	Liz Crotty	11,453	4.6%
	Democratic	Eliza Orlins	10,610	4.2%
	Democratic	Dan Quart	6,984	2.8%
	Write-in		330	0.13%
Total valid votes			250,603	93.7%
Rejected ballots			16,908	6.3%
Total votes			267,511	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Thomas Kenniff, former prosecutor

Results

Republican primary for the 2021 Manhattan district attorney election ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Kenniff
Total votes				100.00%

General election

Debate

2021 Manhattan district attorney election debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Alvin Bragg	Thomas Kenniff
1		MNN NYC	Ben Max	YouTube	P	P

Results

2021 Manhattan district attorney election ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alvin Bragg	211,686	83.6
	Republican	Thomas Kenniff	41,211	16.3
	Write-in		397	0.1
Total votes			253,294	100
	Democratic hold

Notes

1. "No One"
2. This poll was sponsored by StudentsFirstNY, a pro-charter schools group

References

1. Sisak, Michael R. (March 12, 2021). "NYC prosecutor leading Trump probe won't seek re-election". USA Today . Retrieved June 21, 2021.
2. Bromwich, Jonah E. (June 21, 2021). "Here Are the Democrats Running for Manhattan D.A." The New York Times.
3. Ngo, Emily (March 23, 2021). "The Manhattan DA Candidates and the Probe into Donald Trump". ny1.com. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
4. Coltin, Jeff (February 9, 2021). "Manhattan DA candidates expect to inherit Vance's case against Trump". City & State NY. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
5. "Endorsements". Tahanie For DA.
6. "@elizaorlins & @TahanieNYC for #ManhattanDA@elizaorlins is a long-time progressive ally of the PCCC & @ewarren, & is our first choice. @TahanieNYC is also spot-on ideologically — PCCC is proud to endorse her as well!".
7. "Thank you to @RepGregoryMeeks for your endorsement. I've been a long time admirer of your focused efforts to revitalize the economy, create jobs, and ensure that #JusticeCantWait. #TeamBragg".
8. "Endorsements". Alvin Bragg.
9. Coltin, Jeff (August 29, 2022). "10th District campaigns dogged by what-ifs after Goldman victory". City & State . Retrieved September 1, 2022.
10. "In Case You Missed It: #TeamBragg was honored to receive a glowing endorsement from @JohnLegend! He stated "Alvin Bragg has the most experience out of any progressive candidate and that's why I'm endorsing him." Thank you for supporting our movement for #JusticeForAll!".
11. "Boston DA Rachael Rollins endorses Alvin Bragg for Manhattan DA … but really my first thought is wondering if you're allowed to endorse and talk politics using government resources in Massachusetts? This shit would never fly in New York!".
12. "Endorsements". Tali For DA.
13. "Endorsements". Diana For DA. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
14. "Endorsements". Vote Lucy Lang. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
15. "Endorsements". Eliza Orlins.
16. "Endorsements". Dan Quart. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
17. Data For Progress (D)
18. Benenson Strategy Group (D)
19. "New York Democratic District Attorney New York Recap" (PDF).
20. "Manhattan District Attorney Primary Election Results". The New York Times. June 22, 2021.
21. "General Election 2021 - District Attorney, New York" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved January 5, 2022.