New York City's chaotic mayoral campaign is jolted by a late twist

The race to become New York City's 110th mayor began in a pandemic-enforced bubble, with the campaign playing out in drab Zoom forums, on social media and through the press, where email statements took the place of live exhortations to swells of supporters.

But with the city now open as vaccination rates climb and infection rates plummet, the final scenes of this Democratic mayoral primary are unfolding on hot city streets and in-person debate stages. Unleashed at last, the leading candidates and their surrogates are launching increasingly pointed attacks that ricochet across Twitter -- allowing, or compelling, the campaigns to respond in almost real time. The next mayor will inherit a city decimated by Covid-19, which has killed more than 30,000 New Yorkers and leveled industries, particularly those relied upon for economic survival in already marginalized communities. The rebuilding process, which is already being buffeted by fiercely competing interests, comes amid a surge in violent crime, an issue that has gripped the campaign over the last few months. The shifting and diverse priorities of this vast electorate have only added to the volatility of the primary, an open and often chaotic scrum which attracted more than a dozen candidates.