Where did all the New York City Council challengers go?

Twelve candidates for New York City Council are running unopposed this year following two-year terms caused by redistricting. Though a high number at first glance, it’s not entirely abnormal in the context of previous election cycles following redistricting. 

Despite the expansion of the public matching funds program, plus ranked choice voting possibly spurring more people to run for office, the political price of running against popular incumbents might not be worth it, according to political consultant Eugene Noh. “If you don’t have a path to victory, and then you get crushed, it doesn’t actually set you up for the next run,” Noh said. 

The natural churn of election cycles and the pool of potential candidates in each district factors into the equation as well. Democrats’ “bench” is currently depleted and has to be “built back up again,” political consultant Lupe Todd-Medina said.