SBragg looks likely to win Manhattan prosecutor race after rival concedes

[July 03, 2021]  By Jonathan Allen and Joseph Ax

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alvin Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer, looked likely to become the next Manhattan district attorney after his main rival for the Democratic nomination, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded on Friday.

Bragg, 47, would become the first Black person to lead one of the country's most high-profile prosecutor's offices, which made headlines this week with a sweeping indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump's namesake company and its longtime financial chief, Allen Weisselberg.

Bragg held 34% of the votes by registered Democrats in the June 22 primary elections, while Farhadian Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, was in second place at 30%, with thousands of absentee ballots still to be tallied. Six other candidates trailed far behind.

"We are one step closer to making history and transforming the District Attorney's office to deliver safety and justice for all," Bragg said in a statement in which he recalled being stopped by the police multiple times growing up in New York City and vowing to end racial disparities in prosecutions.

Given Manhattan's heavily Democratic tilt, Bragg is almost assured of prevailing in November's general election over Republican Thomas Kenniff, a former Westchester County prosecutor and Iraq War veteran.

Alvin Bragg, candidate for District Attorney of New York poses for a portrait in New York City, New York, U.S., April 15, 2021. Picture taken April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

The winner of the race is expected to inherit the office's ongoing criminal investigation into Trump's business empire, which was initiated in 2018 under the current district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., who is retiring.

Farhadian Weinstein said in a statement on Friday that she was conceding after concluding that she would finish in second place once all votes are counted.

"I spoke with Alvin Bragg earlier today and congratulated him on his historic election as Manhattan’s first Black district attorney," her statement said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York and Joseph Ax in Princeton, New Jersey; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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