Eric Adams vs. Andrew Yang: The Power Of In-Person Campaigning
This year's mayoral race comes in the midst of several crises. New York City is slowly opening up as more people get vaccinated, but healthcare officials are still dealing with vaccine hesitancy. Employment rates and the economy are slow to recover. Debates around police and criminal justice continue. And yet, during this potential turning point for New York City, many voters are undecided or simply not interested in the mayoral election.
Voters will have the option to use a ranked-choice voting system for the first time, and according to recent polls, the two candidates with significant name recognition are CEO and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. They're also the ones who've done the most in-person campaigning.
For my final data visualization project at the Columbia Journalism School, I looked at where the two candidates have campaigned, and how current polling reflects those choices. My event data comes from Andrew Yang's press page and Eric Adams' Facebook page. Polling data comes from a recently-released survey published by Politico.
I wrote the original code for the visualizations in a Google Colaboratory notebook using ggplot and pandas in Python.
Voters will have the option to use a ranked-choice voting system for the first time, and according to recent polls, the two candidates with significant name recognition are CEO and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. They're also the ones who've done the most in-person campaigning.
For my final data visualization project at the Columbia Journalism School, I looked at where the two candidates have campaigned, and how current polling reflects those choices. My event data comes from Andrew Yang's press page and Eric Adams' Facebook page. Polling data comes from a recently-released survey published by Politico.
I wrote the original code for the visualizations in a Google Colaboratory notebook using ggplot and pandas in Python.
Adams tends to go further out into Queens and a wider range of places in Brooklyn; he grew up living in both boroughs. Yang has gone further south in Brooklyn. Both of them have visited Staten Island at least once.
We can also learn about the candidates' priorities by analyzing the text of their campaign videos, both of which are now being broadcast on TV. By categorizing each video's sentences, we can see the issues and experiences that the candidates think will speak most to voters.
Andrew Yang spends significantly more time talking about the economy. He mentions his background as a CEO, his vision for universal basic income, and his idea of a People's Bank. He's also the only one to mention New York's public transportation system.
Eric Adams talks much more about race and criminal justice, including his experience with police brutality at a young age and his career as a police officer.
Both candidates highlight their personal connections to New York, whether it's the neighborhoods they've lived in or what schools they or their children have gone to.
Eric Adams talks much more about race and criminal justice, including his experience with police brutality at a young age and his career as a police officer.
Both candidates highlight their personal connections to New York, whether it's the neighborhoods they've lived in or what schools they or their children have gone to.
According to a poll obtained by Politico, Eric Adams is now polling ahead of Andrew Yang for the first time since Yang announced his mayoral bid in January. The poll had Adams at 21 percent, and Yang at 18 percent.
This new lead is linked to Adams' strong support among Black voters. He had 47 percent of their support, according to the poll.
