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Endless campaigning, vicious online arguments, a ruthless political dynasty \u2014 we\u2019re not talking about the NYC Democratic mayoral primary; we\u2019re talking about the annual Sanrio character ranking<\/a>. Well, maybe we\u2019re talking about both. Even though one features a cast of cute animals and the other a group of ambitious would-be leaders, your social-media feed is probably full of people telling you whom to vote for, whom to rank, and who, by no means, should be on the ballot. Despite their differences in species, dimensions, and cuteness, there are similarities between both slates. We tried to match both sets of hopefuls with their animal or mayoral counterpart below as polls close for both elections this week (June 29 for Sanrio and today, June 24, for the mayoral \u2014 though it may be at least a week until we know the results for sure). Just doing our part for democracy.<\/p>\n Former vice-chair of the DNC and former New York State representative Blake has been in politics for a long time despite his relatively young age. A key figure in both of Barack Obama\u2019s presidential campaigns, Blake is giving \u201ccanonical Democrat.\u201d Hello Kitty is the face of Sanrio but hasn\u2019t won since 2020, which is kind of embarrassing considering she was the winner for a decade straight in the early aughts.<\/p>\n The former governor of New York and nepo baby is hoping to win the mayoral primary on name recognition alone. As with Cuomo, the internet is rallying to take Cinnamoroll down: He\u2019s won the past five years in a row and the subject of a Sanrio favoritism controversy<\/a> after the company scheduled meet and greets with the fluffy puppy during primaries.<\/p>\n Adams \u2014 the \u201cgood\u201d Adams \u2014 is a practical Democrat with years of experience and a good head on her shoulders. She\u2019s a competent choice but has struggled to stand out in a crowded field to those who weren\u2019t already familiar with her. As with Badtz-Maru, the people who know him love him, but he just can\u2019t get over the \u201cbad\u201d in his name.<\/p>\n Tilson is a former hedge-fund manager, prominent Democratic donor, and one of the founders of Teach for America. Petapetaminilian are a weird little alien crew that wants to invade earth and collect stickers, which is basically what a hedge-fund manager does.<\/p>\n Evergreen joke candidate. And Hangyodon brings jokes.<\/p>\n Ramos is a usually progressive politican who surprised her constituents and supporters by endorsing Cuomo to stop the rise of Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani. Kuromi, while super cute, is mischievous and unpredictable \u2014 kind of like Ramos\u2019s endorsement.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a middle-ground option projecting skill, intelligence, seriousness, and little to rock the boat. Chococat was beloved in the \u201990s but has never dominated the rankings. Though as a solid (and safe) choice, neither would be an offensive one to make.<\/p>\n Literally who is this? Is anyone voting for her? Past No. 20 on the character-entries list comes a horde of random ones like the Vaudeville Duo that seem very third party.<\/p>\n The progressive candidate that even your parents like (and may prefer). Pochacco is a universally beloved character but isn\u2019t strong enough to take down Cinnamoroll on his own.<\/p>\n As the upstart political wunderkind with new ideas and a general mastery of Instagram, Pompompurin is the favorite for those who love to root for the underdog. His fans started a grassroots campaign on TikTok<\/a> to dethrone Cinnamoroll, and by the midway point, it looks like it\u2019s working. That\u2019s P-O-M-P-O-M-P-U-R-I-N.<\/p>\n Lawyer and current New York State senator Zellnor Myrie is this year\u2019s other \u201cyouth candidate\u201d \u2014 a millennial who has fought for affordable housing and against gun violence. Keroppi is a favorite in the U.S. Sanrio elections but not on the broader international circuit; maybe he needs to link up with Pompompurin to raise his ranking.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not on the ballot and neither is Big Challenges, but you know what, the name fits.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n