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The 21 in ’21 movement, it turns out, may have been too modest a goal. As results from the first round of ranked-choice voting poured in, at least 22 women appeared likely to win their New York City Council primaries and are heavily favored to win as Democrats in November’s general election. That would exceed the goal set by the 21 in ’21 campaign to elect this year 21 women to the City Council, a body that has historically failed to reflect the gender diversity of New York City.
Initial results released by the city Board of Elections on Tuesday night only reflected the first-choice votes of ballots cast in person. Absentee ballots still have to be tallied and some of the closer races will go into further rounds of ranked-choice vote counting. All of that means that some of the initial results could still change, which is why the 21 in ’21 campaign said Wednesday afternoon that they’re “encouraged” by the results, stopping short of declaring an all-out victory. But a tally of declared winners and candidates who are at this point likely to win – those leading by at least 10 percentage points, and some by much larger margins – shows that at least 22 women are likely to win those primaries and secure those seats in November. That includes two districts where the margins are still tight – Queens’ 23rd District and Staten Island’s 49th District – but where the leading candidates are both women. The 21 in ’21 initiative put out a statement on Wednesday afternoon noting that 28 female candidates are currently leading in their primary races.