New York City mayoral elections

The Mayor of the City of New York is elected in early November every four years and takes office at the beginning of the following year. The city, which elects the mayor as its chief executive, consists of the five boroughs (Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island), which consolidated to form "Greater" New York on January 1, 1898.

The consolidated city's first mayor, Robert A. Van Wyck, was elected with other municipal officers in November 1897. Mayoral elections had previously been held since 1834 by the City of Brooklyn and the smaller, unconsolidated City of New York (Manhattan, later expanded into the Bronx).

The current mayor, now in his first term, is Bill de Blasio. He was elected on November 5, 2013, to a four-year term that began on January 1, 2014.

Overview

Scope of this article

The vast bulk of this page's contents is statistical: the main results, city-wide and by borough, of each of the 32 elections to the Mayoralty of the City of New York since Greater New York was consolidated from the five boroughs in 1897-1898.

For many years, but not all, there are also results for minor candidates and for the different parties nominating the same major candidate. (Because minor parties' votes are not uniformly available, totals and thus percentages can be slightly inconsistent, either between different elections or between individual boroughs and the entire city in the same election.)

There are brief comments about some of the elections, and separate articles have been written for those of 1917, 1977, 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2009. Different elections are compared in many of the individual notes, in two summary tables and in one specialized table.

New York City's Mayoral elections have been marked by an interplay of factors that are magnified by the size of the population. There was a history of a large socialist vote, there is a history of tension between 'regular' and 'reform' politicians, and there has been electoral fusion, a factor not seen in most of the rest of the United States, with a resulting plethora of smaller, yet influential, third parties.

Terms and term limits (since 1834)

Direct elections to the mayoralty of the unconsolidated City of New York began in 1834 for a term of one year, extended to two years after 1849. The 1897 Charter of the consolidated City doubled the term to four years which could not be renewed. In 1901, the term limit was removed, but the term halved to two years. In 1905, the four-year term, without limit, was restored. (Mayors Fiorello La Guardia, Robert F. Wagner, Jr. and Ed Koch were later able to serve for twelve years each.) [1] In 1993, the voters approved a two-term (eight-year) limit, and reconfirmed this limit when the issue was submitted to referendum in 1996. In 2008, the New York City Council voted to change the two-term limit to three terms (without submitting the issue to the voters).[2] Legal challenges to the Council's action were rejected by Federal courts in January and April, 2009.[3] However, in 2010, yet another referendum, reverting the limit to two terms, passed overwhelmingly.[4]

year
term
term
limit
years
Mayor(s) affected 1
Unconsolidated City
18341 year(no limit)(unlimited)all from Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence to Caleb S. Woodhull
18492 years(no limit)(unlimited)all from Ambrose Kingsland to William L. Strong 2
Greater New York (The Five Boroughs)
18974 years
1 term
4 years
Robert A. Van Wyck
19012 years(no limit)(unlimited)Seth Low and George B. McClellan, Jr.3
19054 years(no limit)(unlimited)all from George B. McClellan, Jr.3 to David Dinkins 4
19934 years
2 terms
8 years
Rudolph Giuliani 5
20084 years
3 terms
12 years
Michael Bloomberg 6 only 7
20104 years
2 terms
8 years
Bill de Blasio and his successors 7

Principal source: The Encyclopedia of New York City (see Sources below), entries for "charter" and "mayoralty".

  1. See List of mayors of New York City.
  2. Mayor Strong, elected in 1894, served an extra year because no municipal election was held in 1896, in anticipation of the consolidated City's switch to odd-year elections.
  3. George B. McClellan, Jr. was elected to one two-year term (1904–1905) and one four-year term (1906–1909)
  4. David Dinkins was not affected by the term limit enacted in 1993 because he had served only one term by 1993 and failed to win re-election.
  5. The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan coincided with the primary elections for a successor to Mayor Giuliani, who was completing his second and final term of office. Many were so impressed by both the urgency of the situation and Giuliani's response that they wanted to keep him in office beyond December 31, 2001, either by removing the term limit or by extending his service for a few months.[5] However, neither happened, the primary elections (with the same candidates) were re-run on September 25, the general election was held as scheduled on November 6, and Michael Bloomberg took office on the regularly appointed date of January 1, 2002.
  6. On October 2, 2008, Michael Bloomberg announced that he would ask the city council to extend the limit for mayor, council and other officers from two terms to three, and that, should such an extended limit prevail, he himself would seek re-election as mayor.[6] On October 23, the New York City Council voted 29-22 to extend the two-term limit to three terms. (A proposed amendment to submit the vote to a public referendum had failed earlier the same day by a vote of 22-28 with one abstention.)[2]
  7. In November 2010, yet another popular referendum, limiting mayoral terms to two, passed overwhelmingly.[4][7]

Interrupted terms

Mayors John T. Hoffman (1866–68, elected Governor 1868), William Havemeyer (1845–46, 1848–49, and 1873–74), William Jay Gaynor (1910–13), Jimmy Walker (1926–32), and William O'Dwyer (1946–50) failed to complete the final terms to which they were elected. The uncompleted mayoral terms of Hoffman, Walker, and O'Dwyer were added to the other offices elected in (respectively) 1868, 1932, and 1950 [those three elections are listed as "special" in the table below because they occurred before the next regularly scheduled mayoral election; the "regular" mayoral elections of 1874 and 1913, on the other hand, were held on the same day that they would have happened had the mayoralty not become vacant.]

Interrupted Terms of New York City's Elected Mayors since 1834
Elected Mayor
Last Elected
End of Service
Interim Successor † 2, 3
Election
Elected Successor 4
Dec. 1867
resigned 30 Nov. 1868
 Dec. 1868 (special) A. Oakey Hall (D)
Nov. 1872
died 30 Nov. 1874
 Nov. 1874 (regular) William H. Wickham (D)
died 10 Sept. 1913
 Nov. 1913 (regular) John P. Mitchel (Fusion)
resigned 1 Sept. 1932
 Nov. 1932 (special) John P. O'Brien (D)
resigned 31 Aug. 1950
 Nov. 1950 (special)Vincent Impellitteri
(Experience)

† Became acting mayor as the president of the board of aldermen or (in 1950) city council.

(D) = (Democratic)

(R) = (Republican)

  1. Mayor Havemeyer was a Democrat who ran as a Republican against the Democratic Tweed Ring in 1872.
  2. Acting Mayors Coman, Vance and Kline did not seek election as mayor.
  3. Acting Mayors McKee and Impellitteri were Democrats who lost the Democratic primary to succeed themselves, but still ran in the general election as independents.
  4. Elected Mayor Oakey Hall won re-election, while Mayor Wickham did not seek it. Mayors Mitchel and O'Brien lost attempts at re-election, while Mayor Impellitteri did not run for a full term in the 1953 regular general election after losing the Democratic primary.

Summary tables

Principal candidates' City-wide vote since 1897

This chart has several purposes. One is to provide ordinary readers with simple, basic information from a very detailed page. Another is to provide a handy index for those looking for a particular candidate or campaign. (Just click on the year, the candidate's name, or the party name or abbreviation for more details.)

A slightly more sophisticated purpose is to sketch out on one screen the flow of votes across parties and candidates, as affected by fusion, splitting, cross-endorsement and the emergence of new movements or personalities.

Votes in thousands for principal candidates only, generally those winning more than 4.0% (1/25) of the total vote. (Therefore, low votes may not be shown in a particular year for an otherwise significant party, such as Socialist or Conservative. For some of the lesser left-wing candidates before 1945, see #Collapse of the Socialist Party vote below.) Total vote includes that for all candidates and parties, major and minor.

Winner in bold-face in a colored box. Sitting mayor (elected or acting) at the time of the election in italics.

To determine the meaning of abbreviations, click the link or check the list below this table. (Different first names, initials and nicknames may be used for the same person purely to fit the available space.)

year Total
'000		 Democratic '000 Fusion, Liberal, Independent, etc. '000 Republican '000 other major candidates '000
1897532Robert A. Van Wyck
234
Seth Low, Citizens Union
152
Benjamin F. Tracy
102
Henry George, Jeff'n D
22
1901562Edward M. Shepard
265
Seth Low, Fusion
297
1903595George B. McClellan, Jr.
315
Seth Low, Fusion
252
1905606George B. McClellan, Jr.
228
Wm Randolph Hearst, Municipal Ownership League
225
William M. Ivins (Senior)
137
1909604William Jay Gaynor
250
Wm R. Hearst, Civic All'ce
154
Otto Bannard, R-Fusion
177
1913627Edward E. McCall
234
John P. Mitchel, Fusion
358
Chas E. Russell, Soc
32
1917692John Francis Hylan
314
John P. Mitchel, Fusion
155
William M. Bennett
56
Morris Hillquit, Soc.
145
[The State of New York granted the vote to women in 1917, doubling the potential total vote.]
19211,196John Francis Hylan
750
Henry Curran, R-Coalition
333
Jacob Panken, Soc.
83
19251,161Jimmy Walker
749
Frank D. Waterman
347
Norman Thomas, Soc
40
19291,465Jimmy Walker
868
Fiorello H. La Guardia
368
Norman Thomas, Soc
176
19322,254John P. O'Brien1,054Joseph McKee, Ind write-in
234
Lewis H. Pounds
443
Morris Hillquit, Soc.
252
19332,205John P. O'Brien
587
Jos.V. McKee, Recovery
609
F.H. La Guardia, R-Fusion
869
Chas Solomon, Soc.
60
19372,300Jeremiah Mahoney, D-Trades Union-Anticommunist
891
Fiorello H. La Guardia, R-ALP-Fusion-Progressive1,345
19412,294William O'Dwyer1,054Fiorello H. La Guardia, R-ALP-Fusion-United City1,187
19452,037William O'Dwyer, D-ALP1,125Newbold Morris, No Deal
408
Jonah Goldstein, R-Lib.-Fus.
432
19492,663William O'Dwyer1,267Newbold Morris, R-Lib.-Fusion
956
Vito Marcantonio ALP
357
19502,697Ferdinand Pecora, D-Lib.
935
Vincent Impellitteri, Exp 1,161Edward Corsi
382
Paul Ross, ALP
148
19532,224Robert F. Wagner, Jr.1,023Rudolph Halley, Lib.-Ind.
467
Harold Riegelman
662
19572,224Robt Wagner, D-Lib-Fus1,509Robert Christenberry
586
19612,467Robert F. Wagner, Jr., D-Liberal-Brotherhood1,237Lawrence Gerosa, Ind.- Citizens Party
322
Louis Lefkowitz, R-Nonpartisan-Civic Action
836
19652,652Abraham Beame, D-Civil Service Fusion1,046John V. Lindsay, R-Liberal-Independent Citizens1,149Wm F. Buckley, Jr, Conservative
341
19692,458Mario Procaccino, D-Nonpartisan-Civil Service Ind
832
John V. Lindsay, Liberal1,013John Marchi, R-Conservative
543
19731,701Abraham Beame
961
Albert Blumenthal, Lib.
265
John Marchi
277
Mario Biaggi, Cons.
190
19771,370Edward Koch
717
Mario Cuomo, Liberal
588
Roy M. Goodman
59
Barry Farber, Cons.
57
19811,223Edward Koch, D-R
913
Frank Barbaro, Unity
163
19851,107Edward Koch, D-Ind.
868
Carol Bellamy, Liberal
113
Diane McGrath, R-Cons.
102
19891,900David Dinkins
917
Rudolph Giuliani, R-L.-Ind Fu.
870
19931,889David Dinkins
877
Rudolph Giuliani, R-L
930
19971,117Ruth Messinger
479
Rudolph Giuliani, R-L
616
20011,481Mark Green,
D-Working Families
709
Michael Bloomberg, R–Independence Party
744
20051,290Fernando Ferrer
503
Michael Bloomberg, R/Lib. – Independence Party
753
20091,155Bill Thompson,
D-Working Families
535
Michael Bloomberg, Indep'ce/Jobs & Educ. – R
585
20131,102Bill de Blasio,
D-Working Families
796
Joe Lhota,
R-Conservative
264

Abbreviations used in this table: Fu. or Fus = Fusion, Ind. = Independent, Ind Fu. = Independent Fusion (1989), Independence or Indep'ce = Independence Party of New York, L or Lib. = Liberal Party of New York, Cons. = Conservative Party of New York, ALP = American Labor Party, Soc. = Socialist Party of America, Jeff'n D = The Democracy of Thomas Jefferson (Henry George, 1897), Civic All'ce = Civic Alliance (Hearst 1909), Exp = Experience party (Impellitteri's label for his independent campaign in 1950), Jobs & Educ. = Independent Jobs & Education party (Bloomberg's personal label sharing a ballot line with Independence Party in 2009)

How the boroughs voted

See the table above for more information about the candidates and parties involved. Blue indicates a candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party; pink one endorsed by the Republicans; and buff (or beige) one endorsed by neither party. (Darker shades indicate where a borough voted for a candidate who lost the city-wide vote.) In 1981, Edward Koch ran on the tickets of both the Democrats and the Republicans.

Click a year to see the table or tables for that particular election (# indicates a link devoted to one specific election rather than to a set of two to six.)

Although separate boroughs since 1898, the Bronx and Manhattan shared New York County and reported elections together until the separate Bronx County was formed in April 1912 and started her separate existence on January 1, 1914. The borough of Richmond changed its name to Staten Island in 1975, although the co-extensive Richmond County still retains that name.

borough Manhattan and The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [S.I.] City of New York
county
[ New York ]
[ Kings ]
[ Queens ]
[ Richmond ]
 
1897Van Wyck 48%Van Wyck 40%Van Wyck 41%Van Wyck 44%Van Wyck 45%
1901Low 49%Low 55%Shepard 49%Low 52%Low 51%
1903McClellan 56%McClellan 49%McClellan 56%Low 48%McClellan 53%
1905McClellan 42%Hearst 39%Hearst 39%McClellan 44%McClellan 38%
1909Gaynor 43%Gaynor 42%Gaynor 38%Gaynor 47%Gaynor 42%
boroughManhattanThe BronxBrooklynQueensRichmond [S.I.]City of New York
county
[ New York ]
[ Bronx ]
[ Kings ]
[ Queens ]
[ Richmond ]
 
1913Mitchel Mitchel Mitchel 60%Mitchel 60%Mitchel 54%Mitchel 57%
#1917Hylan 46%Hylan 43%Hylan 47%Hylan 52%Hylan 58%Hylan 47%
#1921Hylan 63%Hylan 68%Hylan 62%Hylan 69%Hylan 71%Hylan 64%
#1925Walker 70%Walker 72%Walker 61%Walker 63%Walker 67%Walker 66%
#1929Walker 64%Walker 63%Walker 58%Walker 62%Walker 58%Walker 61%
#1932O'Brien 61%O'Brien 52%O'Brien 51%O'Brien 48%O'Brien 54%O'Brien 53%
#1933La Guardia 38%La Guardia 39%La Guardia 44%La Guardia 39%La Guardia 44%La Guardia 40%
#1937La Guardia 58%La Guardia 62%La Guardia 63%La Guardia 55%La Guardia 56%La Guardia 60%
#1941La Guardia 56%La Guardia 58%La Guardia 55%O'Dwyer 60%O'Dwyer 60%La Guardia 52%
#1945O'Dwyer 56%O'Dwyer 55%O'Dwyer 57% O'Dwyer 61%O'Dwyer 66%O'Dwyer 55%
#1949O'Dwyer 45%O'Dwyer 49%O'Dwyer 49%O'Dwyer 53%O'Dwyer 65%O'Dwyer 48%
#1950Impellitteri 40%Pecora 42%Pecora 41%Impellitteri 55%Impellitteri 60%Impellitteri 44%
#1953Wagner 48%Wagner 46%Wagner 47%Wagner 41%Wagner 52%Wagner 46%
#1957Wagner 74%Wagner 77%Wagner 75%Wagner 64%Wagner 65%Wagner 68%
#1961Wagner 56%Wagner 56%Wagner 53%Wagner 46%Lefkowitz 42%Wagner 50.1%
#1965Lindsay 56%Beame 47%Beame 47%Lindsay 47%Lindsay 46%Lindsay 43%
#1969Lindsay 67%Procaccino 41%Procaccino 42%Lindsay 36%Marchi 62%Lindsay 41%
#1973Beame 49%Beame 57%Beame 63%Beame 57%Beame 47%Beame 57%
boroughManhattanThe BronxBrooklynQueensStaten IslandCity of New York
county
[ New York ]
[ Bronx ]
[ Kings ]
[ Queens ]
[ Richmond ]
 
#1977KochKochKochCuomoCuomoKoch 52%
#1981KochKochKochKochKochKoch 75%
#1985KochKochKochKochKochKoch 78%
#1989DinkinsDinkinsDinkinsGiulianiGiulianiDinkins 48%
#1993DinkinsDinkinsDinkinsGiulianiGiulianiGiuliani 49%
#1997GiulianiMessingerGiulianiGiulianiGiulianiGiuliani 55%
#2001Green 52%Green 55%Green 52%Bloomberg 55%Bloomberg 77%Bloomberg 50.3%
#2005Bloomberg 60%Ferrer 60%Bloomberg 58%Bloomberg 64%Bloomberg 77%Bloomberg 58.4%
#2009Bloomberg 56%Thompson 61%Thompson 52%Bloomberg 54%Bloomberg 66%Bloomberg 50.7%
#2013de Blasio 71.7%de Blasio 86.1%de Blasio 77.5%de Blasio 70.3%Lhota 52.8%de Blasio 73.2%

Although it was not uncommon for a candidate to carry all five boroughs in the same election, variations in voting patterns are noticeable. Since it started reporting separate returns in 1913, the Bronx has supported only one Republican (Fiorello La Guardia) and Manhattan has opposed only two successful candidates (Giuliani in 1993 and Bloomberg in 2001). On the other hand, in the eleven elections since 1965 that were contested between Democratic and Republican candidates (i.e. excluding 1981, when Ed Koch was endorsed by both parties), Queens and Staten Island have voted for only two Democratic candidates, Abe Beame in 1973 and Koch in 1985. The City as a whole elected four of the Democratic candidates in those same eleven elections from 1965 to 2009. The Bronx supported all eleven, Brooklyn nine, and Manhattan six.

Recent elections

2013

The principal candidates were Joe Lhota on the Republican and Conservative lines, Bill de Blasio on the Democratic and Working Families lines, and some independents. Bill de Blasio won the election in a landslide

2013 Results by Borough

[8]

General Election
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic-Working Families Bill de Blasio 195,317 (71.69%) 121,511 (86.08%) 263,823 (77.52%) 181,921 (70.28%) 33,107 (44.20%) 795,679 (73.15%)
Republican-Conservative Joe Lhota 69,434 (25.48%) 15,559 (11.02%) 68,543 (20.14%) 71,306 (27.55%) 39,538 (52.79%) 264,420 (24.31%)
Independence Adolfo Carrión, Jr. 2,161 (0.79%) 2,595 (1.84%) 1,463 (0.43%) 1,754 (0.68%) 702 (0.94%) 8,675 (0.80%)
Green Anthony Gronowicz 1,655 (0.61%) 324 (0.23%) 1,507 (0.44%) 1,177 (0.45%) 320 (0.43%) 4,983 (0.46%)
Jobs & Education-Common Sense Jack Hidary 1,081 (0.40%) 151 (0.11%) 1,630 (0.48%) 541 (0.21%) 237 (0.32%) 3,640 (0.33%)
Rent Is Too Damn High Jimmy McMillan 579 (0.21%) 154 (0.11%) 608 (0.18%) 480 (0.19%) 169 (0.23%) 1,990 (0.18%)
School Choice Erick Salgado 267 (0.10%) 342 (0.24%) 932 (0.27%) 324 (0.13%) 81 (0.11%) 1,946 (0.18%)
Libertarian Michael Sanchez 446 (0.16%) 128 (0.09%) 485 (0.14%) 449 (0.17%) 238 (0.32%) 1,746 (0.16%)
Socialist Workers Daniel B. Fein 230 (0.08%) 59 (0.04%) 253 (0.07%) 177 (0.07%) 39 (0.05%) 758 (0.07%)
Tax Wall Street Randy Credico 317 (0.12%) 47 (0.03%) 155 (0.05%) 128 (0.05%) 43 (0.06%) 690 (0.06%)
Freedom Party Michael K. Greys 161 (0.06%) 65 (0.05%) 241 (0.07%) 89 (0.03%) 19 (0.03%) 575 (0.05%)
Reform Party Carl E. Person 86 (0.03%) 20 (0.01%) 85 (0.02%) 83 (0.03%) 32 (0.04%) 306 (0.03%)
Affordable Tomorrow Joseph Melaragno 55 (0.02%) 26 (0.02%) 92 (0.03%) 85 (0.03%) 31 (0.04%) 289 (0.03%)
War Veterans Sam Sloan 19 (0.01%) 23 (0.02%) 44 (0.01%) 43 (0.02%) 37 (0.05%) 166 (0.02%)
Flourish Every Person Michael J. Dilger 12 (0.00%) 4 (0.00%) 29 (0.01%) 4 (0.00%) 6 (0.01%) 55 (0.01%)
N/A Write-ins 639 (0.23%) 149 (0.11%) 440 (0.13%) 304 (0.12%) 300 (0.40%) 1,792 (0.16%)
Total 272,459 (25.05%) 141,157 (12.98%) 340,330 (31.29%) 258,865 (23.80%) 74,899 (6.89%) 1,087,710 (100.00%)

Democratic primary election, Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Bill de Blasio, the city's elected Public Advocate, won 40.8% of the total Democratic primary vote and, by exceeding 40.0%, avoided an October 1 primary runoff with Bill Thompson, who won the second-highest number of primary votes, or 26.1%. (In 2009, Thompson had won the Democratic primary only to lose a close general election to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.) Christine Quinn, the Speaker of the New York City Council, came in third, with 15.7%, while none of the other candidates, including City Comptroller John Liu and former Congressman Anthony Weiner, won as much as 10%. De Blasio carried all five boroughs and Thompson came second in every borough except Manhattan, where he came in third behind Quinn.

From the Board of Elections in the City of New York, September 27, 2013 [9]

2013 Democratic primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
Bill de Blasio81,19736,896104,70352,1907,358282,344 
40.9%38.1%46.4%35.0%34.3% 40.8%
William C. Thompson, Jr.42,72031,61761,47138,1626,871180,841 
21.5%32.7%27.2%25.6%32.1%26.1%
Christine C. Quinn52,10210,39223,00719,8473,545108,893 
26.3%10.7%10.2%13.3%16.5%15.7%
John C. Liu10,1914,75313,92716,9771,43847,286 
5.1%4.9%6.2%11.4%6.7%6.8%
Anthony D. Weiner6,8585,72610,9509,4381,22034,192 
3.5%5.9%4.8%6.3%5.7%4.9%
Erick J. Salgado2,2963,8555,7933,73523515,9142.3%
Randy Credico1,5882,3012,3515,12916111,5301.7%
Sal F. Albanese8215812,3461,6484475,8430.8%
Neil V. Grimaldi6346401,1082,1571384,6770.7%
All Write-ins501817221202810.04%
T O T A L 198,45896,780225,829149,30521,434691,801100.0%
borough percentage of city-wide Democratic vote 29%14%33%22%3%100% 

Republican primary election, Tuesday, September 10, 2013

In the Republican primary, Joe Lhota, a former deputy mayor and former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority carried every borough but Staten Island, which was won by John Catsimatidis, a businessman, publisher and property developer. Catsimatidis, in losing, won nearly as large a percentage of his own party's vote (40.69%) as the Democratic winner, Bill de Blasio won of his (40.81%). The 61,111 valid votes cast in the Republican primary were less than one-eleventh of the 691,801 cast in the Democratic one held on the same day in the same polling places.

From the Board of Elections in the City of New York, September 27, 2013 [10]

2013 Republican primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
Joe Lhota9,2111,8606,9958,7585,41232,23652.7%
70.5%52.9%47.6%51.0%42.8%
John Catsimatidis3,1391,2816,7236,9456,77624,86440.7%
24.0%36.4%45.7%40.5%53.5%
George McDonald6833699401,4564513,8996.4%
5.2%10.5%6.4%8.5%3.6%
all Write-In votes348429191120.2%
T O T A L13,0673,51814,70017,16812,65861,111100.0%
borough percentage of city-wide Republican vote 21%6%24%28%21%100% 

2009

The principal candidates were Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent running for the third time on the Republican and Independence Party lines, and New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson, running for the Democratic and Working Families Parties. Bloomberg had enjoyed pluralities of about 9% to 16% in most independent published pre-election polls and on Tuesday, November 3, he won his third term with 50.7% of votes over Thompson's 46%.

Other candidates included:[11]

General election, Tuesday, November 3, 2009

2009 General election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
Bloomberg's margin over Mark Green (2001)– 22,777– 21,683– 28,182+ 46,904+ 61,227+ 35,489+ 2.4%
change in Bloomberg's margin of victory, 2001-2005+ 98,973– 19,634+ 97,622+ 48,125– 10,705+ 214,381+ 17.0%
Bloomberg's margin over Fernando Ferrer (2005)+ 76,196– 41,317+ 69,440+ 95,029+ 50,522+ 249,870+ 19.4%
change in Bloomberg's margin of victory, 2005-2009– 35,010+ 6,268– 91,392– 59,742– 19,397– 199,273– 15.0%
Bloomberg's margin over Bill Thompson (2009)+ 41,186– 35,049– 21,952+ 35,287+ 31,125+ 50,597+ 4.4%
net change in Bloomberg's margin, 2001-2009+ 63,963– 13,366 + 6,230– 11,617– 30,102+ 15,108+ 2.0%
Michael R. BloombergRepublican102,903 42,066 117,706 126,569 46,149 435,39337.7%
35.9%29.0%34.6%42.3%55.4%
Independence/Jobs and Education56,934 11,730 36,033 36,364 9,012 150,073 13.0%
19.9% 8.1%10.6%12.2%10.8%
Total159,837 53,796 153,739 162,933 55,161 585,466 50.7%
55.8%37.0%45.1%54.5%66.2%
William C. Thompson, Jr.Democratic110,975 86,899 163,230 122,935 22,956 506,995 43.9%
38.7% 59.8% 47.9% 41.1% 27.5%
Working Families7,676 1,946 12,461 4,711 1,080 27,874 2.4%
2.7%1.3%3.7%1.6%1.3%
Total118,651 88,845 175,691 127,646 24,036 534,86946.3%
41.4%61.2%51.6%42.7%28.8%
Stephen ChristopherConservative2,2171,4805,6905,267 3,35918,013 1.6%
0.8% 1.0%1.7%1.8%4.0%
Billy Talen Green3,083 4343,3381,6803678,902 0.8%
1.1% 0.3%1.0%0.6%0.4%
Jimmy McMillanRent Is Too High8232177644041242,3320.2%
Francisca VillarSocialism and Liberation674 253 577 420 72 1,9960.2%
Joseph Dobrian Libertarian556 1044133881551,6160.1%
Dan Fein Socialist Workers493 120376263591,3110.1%
Write-ins †10030776030297.03%
Total recorded votes286,434145,279 340,665 299,06183,3631,154,802100.00%
unrecorded ballots5,1723,6596,6456,2541,525 23,255 
Total ballots cast291,606148,938347,310305,31584,8881,178,057
† The three candidates who received more than seven write-in votes each were C. Montgomery Burns (Homer Simpson's fictional boss), 27;
City Councilman Tony Avella (who lost the Democratic mayoral primary), 13; and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (Republican), 11.
Source: Board of Elections in the City of New York, November 24, 2009[12]

Democratic primary, Tuesday, September 15, 2009

From the Board of Elections in the City of New York, September 26, 2009 [13]

2009 Democratic primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
William C. Thompson, Jr.70,88131,95075,51949,0637,484234,89771.0%
73.7%73.5%73.9%63.2%67.0%
Tony Avella18,2137,75417,94522,9032,95969,77421.1%
18.9%17.8%17.6%29.5%26.5%
Roland Rogers6,9753,7518,6125,55370025,5917.7%
7.3%8.6%8.4%7.2%6.3%
all Write-In votes1271015381263970.1%
0.1%0.02%0.1%0.1%0.2%
T O T A L96,19643,465102,22977,60011,169330,659 

Tony Avella represents a Queens district on the New York City Council. Out of the nearly 400 write-in votes, almost half or 184 (representing about one Democratic voter in 2,000) were some form or spelling of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

2005

In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg won every borough but The Bronx (of which his Democratic opponent was the former Borough President) against a Democratic Party split by a divisive primary, in contrast to his first victory in 2001, when Bloomberg carried only Queens and Staten Island.

2005 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
change in Bloomberg's margin of victory, 2001-2005+ 98,973– 19,634+ 97,622+ 48,125– 10,705+ 214,381+ 17.0%
Bloomberg's margin over Mark Green (2001)– 22,777– 21,683– 28,182+ 46,904+ 61,227+ 35,489+ 2.4%
Bloomberg's margin over Ferrer (2005)+ 76,196– 41,317+ 69,440+ 95,029+ 50,522+ 249,870+ 19.4%
Michael R. BloombergRepublican/Liberal171,59369,577189,581184,42663,267678,44452.6%
52.6%35.3%52.7%57.9%71.5%
Independence25,4166,84020,14117,6894,55974,6455.8%
7.8%3.5%5.6%5.6%5.2%
Total197,01076,417209,723202,11667,827753,08958.4%
60.4%38.8%58.2%63.5%76.7%
Fernando FerrerDemocratic120,813117,734140,282107,08617,304503,21939.0%
37.0%59.8%39.0%33.6%19.6%
Thomas V. OgnibeneConservative1,7291,1853,5735,6452,49814,6301.1%
Anthony Gronowicz Green3,1954663,1121,2852398,2970.6%
Jimmy McMillanRent Is Too Damn High1,3694741,2937991764,1110.3%
Audrey Silk Libertarian9912348416172052,8880.2%
Martin Koppel Socialist Workers7582317663841172,2560.2%
Seth A BlumEducation322131382264771,1760.1%
Write-ins1091905712269.02%
TOTAL326,295196,873360,061318,25288,4541,289,935

Source: Board of Elections in the City of New York http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/results.html

2001

The 2001 mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 6.

Republican incumbent Rudy Giuliani could not run again due to term limits. As Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5 to 1 in the city, it was widely believed that a Democrat would succeed him in City Hall. However, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a lifelong Democrat, changed his party affiliation a few months before the election in order to avoid a crowded primary, and ran as a Republican. The Democratic primary was meant to be held on September 11 but was postponed due to the September 11 attacks; it was instead held on September 25. The primary opened the way to a bitter run-off between the Bronx-born Puerto Rican Fernando Ferrer, and Mark J. Green, a non-Hispanic who attacked Ferrer's close ties to Rev. Al Sharpton, leaving the party divided along racial lines.

Bloomberg spent $74 million on his election campaign, which was a record amount at the time for a non-presidential election (Bloomberg would break his own record in 2005). Thanks also in part to active support from Giuliani, whose approval ratings shot up after the September 11 attacks, Bloomberg won a very close general election.

2001 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
Bloomberg's margin over Green– 22,777– 21,683– 28,182+ 46,904+ 61,227+ 35,489+ 2.4%
Michael R. BloombergRepublican162,09672,551174,053196,24180,725685,66646.3%
Independence17,7018,04614,98714,1914,16659,0914.0%
Total179,79780,597189,040210,43284,891744,75750.3%
46.1%43.1%45.7%55.3%77.1%
Mark GreenDemocratic193,37297,087206,005157,89722,356676,71745.7%
Working Families9,2025,19311,2175,6311,30832,5512.2%
Total202,574102,280217,222163,52823,664709,26847.9%
52.0%54.7%52.5%43.0%21.5%
Alan G. HevesiLiberal2,6848472,1241,8864868,0270.5%
Better Schools416772628407812,3040.2%
Total3,1001,6192,7522,29356710,3310.7%
Julia WillebrandGreen2,2416702,4561,5792097,1550.5%
Terrance M. GrayConservative5076428441,2193653,5770.2%
Thomas K. LeightonMarijuana Reform7915296804181452,5630.2%
Kenny KramerLibertarian3682963383061001,4080.1%
Bernhard H. GoetzFusion203201333253591,0490.1%
Kenneth B. GoldingAmerican Dream961121638122474.03%
scattered votes114572610629332.02%
TOTAL RECORDED VOTE389,791187,003413,854380,215110,0511,480,914(100.0%)
(unrecorded votes)9,1866,12512,09710,2851,83639,529
Total vote398,977193,128425,951390,500111,8871,520,443
Democratic Primary Runoff
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Mark Green 131,438 38,256 120,781 94,342 18,183 403,000
Fernando Ferrer 86,579 106,086 109,831 77,330 7,193 387,019
790,019
Democratic Primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Fernando Ferrer 60,839 86,571 77,516 49,441 5,084 279,451
Mark Green 83,856 26,125 77,805 49,692 5,704 243,182
Peter F. Vallone (Sr.) 25,296 18,268 51,210 48,576 11,842 155,192
Alan G. Hevesi 32,925 6,066 25,110 27,163 3,504 94,768
George N. Spitz 1,558 1,264 2,923 2,489 283 8,517
785,365
Republican Primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Michael Bloomberg 10,959 3,230 10,168 14,543 9,155 48,055
Herman Badillo 4,161 1,838 4,153 5,700 2,624 18,476
72,961

1997

1997 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total %
Rudolph GiulianiRepublican-Liberal171,08084,440207,277 234,85186,167783,81557.7%
50.9%43.6%53.3%64.6% 78.6%
Ruth MessingerDemocratic 149,009104,787 165,699 115,175 14,665549,33540.5%
47.1%54.8% 44.7% 33.7% 17.9%
All others 5,696 2,7737,062 5,7643,003 24,3981.9%
1.7%1.4%1.9%1.6%2.9%
T O T A L
325,785 192,000 380,038 355,790 103,8351,357,448100%

Notes: Giuliani vote was 748,277 Republican and 35,538 Liberal. Other vote was Sal Albanese -Independence-14,316 1.1%; Peter Gaffney-Right to Life-5,304 0.5%; Olga Rodriguez-Socialist Workers-3,753 0.3%; Dominick Fusco-Fusion- 632; Scattered 293

The vote was: Messenger-165,377 40.2%; Sharpton-131,848 32.0%; Albanese-86,485 21.0%; Eric Melendez-17,633 4.3%; Roland Rogers-10,086 2.5%

Past elections

1993

General Election
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
change in Giuliani margin   + 21,433 + 8,256 + 27,786 + 16,428 + 26,517 + 100,447
Giuliani – Dinkins, 1989   – 97,600 – 72,471 – 39,071 + 94,670 + 67,392 – 47,080
Giuliani – Dinkins, 1993   – 76,167 – 64,215 – 11,285 + 111,098 + 93,909 + 53,367
Republican - Liberal Rudolph W. Giuliani 166,357 98,780 258,058 291,625 115,416 930,236
Democratic David N. Dinkins 242,524 162,995 269,343 180,527 21,507 876,869
Conservative - Right to Life George J. Marlin 2462 2098 3995 5258 2113 15,926
1,827,465

Giuliani vote included 867,767 Republican and 62,469 Liberal. Marlin vote included 9,433 Conservative and 6,493 Right to Life. In addition, there were 2,229 votes for J. Brennan-Libertarian; 2,061 votes for M. Bockman - Socialist Workers and 117 Scattered votes.

Dinkins won Democratic Primary with 336,285 votes to 126,449 for Roy Innis and 35,492 for Eric Melendez

1989

General Election
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Dinkins' lead over Giuliani   + 97,600 + 72,471 + 39,071 – 94,670 – 67,392 + 47,080
Democratic David N. Dinkins 255,286 172,271 276,903 190,096 22,988 917,544
Republican - Liberal - Independent Rudolph W. Giuliani 157,686 99,800 237,832 284,766 90,380 870,464
Right to Life Henry Hewes 3,025 2,571 4,140 5,647 2,077 17,460
Conservative Ronald S. Lauder 1,701 1,139 2,328 3,062 1,041 9,271
Others 1,904 714 1,197 947 194 4,956
1,819,695

Giuliani vote was 815,387 Republican and 55,077 Liberal.

Other vote was 1,732 Lenora Fulani-New Alliance; 1,671-James Harris-Socialist Workers; 1,118 Warren Raum-Libertarian; 435 Mazelis-Workers League.

Democratic Primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
David N. Dinkins 151,113 101,274 170,440 113,952 11,122 547,901
Edward I. Koch 96,923 66,600 139,268 129,262 24,260 456,313
Harrison J. Goldin 6,889 4,951 9,619 5,857 1,493 28,809
Richard Ravitch 17,499 5,946 13,214 9,443 1,432 47,534

Giuliani won the Republican Primary, defeating Ron Lauder 77,150 (67.0%) to 37,960 (33.0%)

1985

General Election
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic - Independent Edward I. Koch 171,582 137,472 248,585 248,041 62,580 868,260
Liberal Carol Bellamy 41,190 14,092 29,256 25,098 3,835 113,471
Republican - Conservative Diane McGrath 17,491 12,358 25,738 36,032 10,049 101,668
others 29,397
1,112,796

The Koch vote include 862,226 Democratic and 6,034 Independent votes. The McGrath vote was 79,508 Republican and 22,160 Conservative. Other vote was: Yehuda Levin - Right to Life - 14,517; Lenora Fulani - New Alliance - 7,597;Jarvis Tyner - People Before Profits - 3,370; Andrea Gonzalez - Socialist Workers - 1,677; Gilbert DiLucia - Coalition - 1,135; Marjorie Stanberg - Spartacist - 1,101; Scattered - 9

Koch won the Democratic Primary: Koch-436,151 64.0%; Bellamy - 127,690 18.7%; Denny Farrell - 89,845 13.2%; DiLucia - 11, 627 1.7%; Fred Newman - 8,584 1.2%; Judah Rubenstein - 8,057 1.2%

1981

General Election
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic - Republican Edward I. Koch 189,631 132,421 261,292 275,812 53,466 912,622
Unity Frank J. Barbaro 56,702 22,074 48,812 31,225 3,906 162,719
Liberal Mary Codd 14,228 5,902 7,958 8,795 4,835 41,718
Conservative John Esposito 6,682 7,634 15,388 26,515 3,881 60,100
1,222,644

Koch had 738,288 Democratic votes and 174,334 Republican votes. Others = 45,485. Jeronimo Dominguez - Right to Life - 32,790 2.7%; Judith Jones - Libertarian - 6,902 0.6%; Wells Todd - Socialist Workers - 5,793 0.5% Koch won the Democratic Primary with 347,351 votes (59.8%), defeating Barbaro who had 209,369 votes (36.0%) and Melvin Klenetsky who had 24,352 votes (4.2%). Koch also won the Republican Primary, defeating Esposito by 44,724 to 22,354.

1977

In his 2005 book Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning, historian Jonathan Mahler argues that the New York City blackout of 1977, with its accompanying rioting, enabled the law-and-order advocate Ed Koch to beat out his more left-wing opponents, including incumbent mayor Abe Beame, in the 1977 election.

General Election
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic Edward I. Koch 184,842 116,436 204,934 191,894 19,270 717,376
Liberal -
Neighborhood Government		 Mario M. Cuomo 77,531 87,421 173,321 208,748 40,932 587,913
Republican Roy M. Goodman 19,321 6,102 11,491 18,460 3,229 58,606
Conservative Barry M. Farber 9,070 7,624 16,576 20,453 3,714 57,437
others   4,281 1,731 3,752 3,256 761 13,781
1,435,113

Other vote was: Kenneth F. Newcombe - Communist - 5,300; Catarino Garza - Socialist Workers - 3,294; Vito Battista - United Taxpayers Party - 2,119; Louis Wein - Independent - 1,127; William Lawry - Free Libertarian - 1,068; Elijah Boyd - Labor - 873. Cuomo's total vote included 522,942 Liberal and 64,971 Neighborhood Government.

1977 Democratic Primary Runoff
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Edward I. Koch 115,251 69,612 131,271 107,033 9,835 433,002
Mario M. Cuomo 61,570 55,355 112,587 105,522 19,799 354,833
1977 Democratic Primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Edward I. Koch 50,806 23,453 49,470 52,002 5,812 181,544
Mario M. Cuomo 25,331 23,028 54,845 56,698 10,430 170,332
Abraham D. Beame 23,758 25,747 63,304 44,607 7,337 164,753
Bella Abzug 56,045 20,435 37,236 33,883 4,314 151,913
Percy Sutton 35,012 24,801 42,903 28,525 1,399 132,640
Herman Badillo 27,193 35,007 28,909 9,051 876 101,036
'

Runoff-Koch-433,002 55.0%; Cuomo-354,833 45.0% Total vote 787,835 Manhattan-Koch-115,251 65.2%; Cuomo—61,570 34.8% Bronx-----Koch-69,612 55.7%; Cuomo—55,355 44.3% Brooklyn—Koch-131,271 53.8%; Cuomo—112,587 46.2% Queens----Koch-107,033 50.4%; Cuomo—105,522 49.6% Staten----Koch-9,835 33.1%; Cuomo—19,799 66.9%

Note that the eventual winner, Rep. Ed Koch, could not win a plurality in any of the Five Boroughs for the initial Democratic primary. Rep. Bella Abzug took Manhattan, Mayor Abe Beame Brooklyn, Rep. Herman Badillo the Bronx, and NY Sec. of State Mario Cuomo Queens & Staten Island. In the Democratic run-off with Cuomo, Koch took Queens and three other boroughs, leaving Cuomo with only Staten Island. In the general election, Cuomo kept Staten Island and won back Queens, but lost the other three boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx) to Koch.

In the Republican primary, Roy M. Goodman, a member of the New York State Senate, defeated Barry Farber, a radio commentator, by a vote of 41,131 to 31,078(57.0% to 43.0%). Farber, however, won the nomination of the Conservative Party of New York and won almost as many votes in the general election (57,437 or 4.0%) as Goodman did as the Republican nominee (58,606 or 4.1%).

1929 to 1973

Some figures and anecdotes courtesy James Trager's New York Chronology (HarperCollins: 2003). Other numbers are from The World Almanac and Book of Facts, then published by The New York World-Telegram (Scripps-Howard), for 1943 (page 412) and 1957 (page 299), and from The Encyclopedia of New York City (see Sources below).

Before 1975, the present Borough of Staten Island was formally known as The Borough of Richmond.

1973

1973 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Abraham BeameDemocratic - Civil Service & Fusion 159,531161,156322,141283,14537,569963,54256.5%
49.8%57.3%63.6%56.7%47.1%
John MarchiRepublican -Integrity44,20037,28773,32890,86028,377274,05216.1%
13.8%13.3%14.5%18.2%35.6%
Albert H. BlumenthalLiberal - Good Government99,81632,30559,41766,0565,006262,60015.4%
31.2%11.5%11.7%13.2%6.3%
Mario BiaggiConservative - Safe City16,66250,44051,39159,6918,793186,97711.0%
5.2%17.9%10.2%11.9%11.0%

subtotal320,209281,188506,277499,75279,7451,687,17198.9

others 18,4631.1%
T O T A L
  1,705,634 

note: All the candidates except Marchi had run in the Democratic primary. Candidates votes on their second ballot lines included above were: Beame-Civil Service & Fusion -67,277; Marchi-Integrity - 14,271; Blumenthal - Good Government - 29, 335; Biaggi - Safe City - 8,010. Other vote includes 8,818 Fran Youngstein - Free Libertarian Party; 3,601 Rasheed Storey - Communist; 2,282 Norman Oliver - Socialist Workers; 2,000 Anton Chaiken -Labor; 1,762 John Emanuel - Socialist Labor

1973 Democratic initial primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Abraham Beame 46,51942,53798,12174,2239,021270,42134%
26%27%41%40%42%
Herman Badillo74,49657,25858,54634,7422,977228,01929%
41%36%25%19%14%
Albert H. Blumenthal41,79418,71332,41229,1731,814123,90616%
23%12%14%16%8%
Mario Biaggi18,21839,89348,95245,9497,775160,78721%
10%25%21%25%36%
[100%]
1973 Democratic run-off primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Abraham Beame 78,76096,590200,945153,37717,84454,61660.8%
41%53%69%73%79%
Herman Badillo 113,73885,82791,62856,9334,796352,91239.2%
59%47%32%27%21%
T O T A L 192,598182,417292,573210,31022,640900.538 

1969

Note: In one of the most unusual primary seasons since the conglomeration of greater New York, the incumbent Mayor (Lindsay) and a former incumbent (Robert F. Wagner, Jr.) both lost their parties' primaries. Procaccino won with less than 33% of the vote against four opponents, which inspired the use of runoffs in future primaries. In the general election, Lindsay carried Manhattan (the only borough he had carried in losing the Republican primary to Marchi, 107,000 to 113,000) as he did in 1965, but he was only 4,000 votes ahead of giving first place in Queens to Procaccino. Turnout dropped to 2.4 million from 2.6 million in 1965. (In the same election, Lindsay's 1965 opponent Abe Beame was easily returned to his old job of comptroller.) [14]

1969 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
John V. LindsayLiberal - Independent328,564161,953256,046249,33016,7401,012,63342.4%
67.1%40.1%36.0%36.3%17.5%
Mario ProcaccinoDemocratic - Civil Service Fusion99,460165,647301,324245,78319,558831,77234.8%
20.3%41.0%42.4%35.8%20.5%
John MarchiRepublican - Conservative61,53976,711152,933192,00859,220542,41122.7%
12.6%19.0%21.5%27.9%62.0%
subtotal
489,563404,311710,303687,12195,5182,386,81699.8%
Rasheed StoreyCommunist 4,0180.2%
T O T A L
 2,390,834100.0%
  • The Lindsay vote was 872,660 Liberal (36.5%) and 139,973 Independent (5.9%).
  • Procaccino's vote was 774,708 Democratic (32.4%) and 57,064 Civil Service Fusion (2.4%).
  • The Marchi vote was 329,506 Republican (13.8%) and 212,905 Conservative (8.9%).
  • By themselves, the straight Democratic and Republican lines added up to less than 50% of the mayoral vote (1,104,214 or 46.2%), but more than the total vote for Lindsay (1,012,633 or 42.4%).
  • Procaccino's general election votes on the Democratic line alone (774,708) were slightly fewer than the total votes received by all candidates in the Democratic primary (777,796).
  • Lindsay's general election votes on the Liberal line alone (872,660) exceeded Procaccino's total votes on all lines (831,772).
1969 Republican primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
[Lindsay minus Marchi] + 31,779 – 3,910 – 13,119 – 13,811 – 7,271 – 6,332
John V. Lindsay 44,236 12,222 20,575 26,658 3,675 107,366
John J. Marchi 12,457 16,132 33,694 40,649 10,946 113,698
221,064
1969 Democratic primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Mario Procaccino 26,804 50,465 87,650 79,002 11,628 255,529
percentage
 16% 34% 36% 40% 52% 33%
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. 40,978 33,442 81,833 61,244 6,967 224,464
percentage
 25% 23% 33% 31% 31% 29%
Herman Badillo 74,809 48,841 52,866 37,880 2,769 217,165
percentage
 45% 33% 22% 19% 12% 28%
Norman Mailer 17,372 4,214 10,299 8,700 703 41,288
percentage
 10% 3% 4% 4% 3% 5%
James H. Scheuer 7,117 10,788 11,942 8,994 509 39,350
percentage
 4% 7% 5% 5% 2% 5%
777,796

1965

1965 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
John V. LindsayRepublican - Liberal - Independent Citizens291,326181,072308,398331,16237,1481,149,10645.0%
55.8%39.5%40.0%47.1%45.8%
Abraham BeameDemocratic - Civil Service Fusion193,230213,980365,360250,66223,4671,046,69941.0%
37.0%46.6%47.4%35.6%28.9%
William F. Buckley, Jr.Conservative37,69463,85897,679121,54420,451341,22613.4%
7.2%13.9%12.7%17.3%25.2%
subtotal
522,250458,910771,437703,36881,0662,537,03199.4%
others  17,1680.6%
T O T A L
 2,554,199

Almost a quarter of Lindsay's vote (281,796) was on the Liberal Party line, while 63,590 of Beame's votes were on the Civil Service Fusion line. John Lindsay, a Republican Congressman from the "Silk-Stocking" District on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, carried Manhattan, Queens, and traditionally Republican Staten Island (Richmond), while Abe Beame, the city comptroller, carried The Bronx and his home borough of Brooklyn, both of which he had also won in the Democratic primary. However, while Beame had also carried Queens in the primary, he lost it to Lindsay in the general election.[15] (Five years later, Bill Buckley's brother James L. Buckley would win the 1970 New York state election for U.S. Senator on the Conservative Party line against divided opposition.) The Other vote was 11,104- Vito Battista - United Taxpayer Party; 3,977- Clifton DeBerry - Socialist Workers; 2,087 - Eric Haas - Socialist Labor

1965 Democratic primary
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Abraham D. Beame 53,386 66,064 128,146 82,601 6,148 336,345
Paul R. Screvane 66,444 54,260 79,485 63,680 7,512 271,381
William F. Ryan 48,744 16,632 24,588 22,570 1,204 113,738
Paul O'Dwyer 6,771 5,976 8,332 6,895 697 28,675
750,139

1961

Mayor Wagner broke with the regular Democratic organization which had supported him in 1953 and 1957, defeating their candidate, Arthur Levitt, in the Democratic primary 61% to 39%. At the same time, after running successfully with Lawrence Gerosa for Comptroller in the previous two elections, Wagner chose to run instead with Abraham Beame in 1961. Gerosa ran against Wagner for mayor as the "real Democrat" on a pro-taxpayer platform. 211,000 of Wagner's 1,237,000 votes came on the Liberal Party line, and 55,000 on the purpose-built Brotherhood line.[16]

1961 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Democratic - Liberal - Brotherhood265,015255,528396,539290,19430,1451,237,42151.03%
55.6%55.8%52.7%45.8%41.0%
Louis LefkowitzRepublican - Nonpartisan - Civic Action174,471134,964251,258243,83631,162835,69134.46%
36.6%29.5%33.4%38.5%42.3%
Lawrence E. Gerosa Independent - Citizens' Party 36,89367,213105,23299,98712,279321,60413.26%
7.7%14.7%14.0%15.8%16.7%
subtotal476,379457,705753,029634,01773,5862,394,71698.75%
others  30,2691.25%
T O T A L   2,424,985 

Other vote was: Vito Battista - United Taxpayers Party - 19,960; Richard Garza - Socialist Workers - 7,037; Eric Haas - Socialist Labor - 3,272

1961 Democratic primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. 122,60778,626136,440102,84515,498456,01660.9%
65%62%57%62%60%
Arthur Levitt 66,91747,885103,29664,15710,471292,72639.1%

35%38%43%38%40%
subtotal (for Wagner and Levitt only)189,524126,511239,736167,00225,969748,742[100%]

1957

1957 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Democratic - Liberal - Fusion 316,203316,299494,078341,21240,9831,508,77569.2%
73.8%76.6%75.1%64.1%64.7%
Robert Christenberry Republican112,17396,726163,427191,06122,381585,76826.9%
26.2%23.4%24.9%35.9%35.3%
subtotal
428,376413,025657,505532,27363,3642,094,54396.1%
others  85,3553.9%
T O T A L
  2,179,878

The Wagner-Christenberry campaign has left us one of the great campaign anecdotes: Christenberry was railing against Wagner's police department for not doing enough to fight corruption and vice, so the cops raided Christenberry's illegal casino in the basement of the hotel he was manager of. Other vote was: Vito Battista - United Taxpayer's Party - 67,266 3.1%; Joyce Cowley - Socialist Workers - 13,453 0.6%; Eric Haas - Socialist Labor- 4,611 0.2%

1953

1953 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Democratic236,960206,771339,970207,91831,0071,022,62646.3%
47.9%46.2%46.6%40.6%51.8%
Harold RiegelmanRepublican147,87697,224183,968208,82923,694661,59130.0%
29.9%21.7%25.2%40.8%39.6%
Rudolph HalleyLiberal76,884112,825162,27573,1923,514428,69019.4%
Independent7,6489,85313,2647,35629538,4161.7%
Total84,532122,678175,53980,5483,809467,10621.1%
17.1%27.4%24.1%15.7%6.4%
Clifford T. McAvoyAmerican Labor Party14,90413,29017,3377,18233253,0452.4%

Total vote was 2,207,516 Other vote was David L. Weiss-Socialist Workers-2,054 (0.1%);Nathan Karp-Industrial Government-916; Scattered-180. "Industrial Government" is a ballot title sometimes used, to avoid confusion or to meet election laws, by the Socialist Labor Party. The Liberal Party of New York won over five times as many votes as the American Labor Party in Manhattan, and eight-to-ten times as many in the other boroughs. The ALP lost its ballot status after the 1954 Governor's race, and voted to dissolve itself in 1956.

1950

1950 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Vincent Impellitteri Experience246,608215,913357,322303,44837,8841,161,17544.2%
40.4%41.3%40.5%55.5%60.0%
Ferdinand Pecora Democratic166,240157,537271,670104,73411,177711,35827.1%
Liberal48,37059,71790,57624,489841223,9938.5%
Total214,610217,254362,246129,22312,018935,35135.6%
35.1%41.6%41.0%23.6%19.0%
Edward CorsiRepublican102,57554,796113,39299,22512,384382,37214.6%
16.8%10.5%12.8%18.1%19.6%
Paul RossAmerican Labor Party47,20134,57549,99914,904899147,5785.6%
T O T A L610,994522,538882,959546,80063,1852,626,476

Vincent Impellitteri, the mayor who succeeded mid-term after William O'Dwyer resigned on August 31, 1950, swept Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island in this special election, while Ferdinand Pecora (aided by the Liberal Party) took very narrow leads in The Bronx and Brooklyn. In this election, the Liberals heavily outpolled the American Labor Party in every borough but Manhattan and Staten Island, where the two parties' votes were almost equal.

1949

1949 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
William O'Dwyer Democratic 278,343254,014425,225270,06238,868 1,266,51248.9%
44.8%48.7%48.8%53.4%64.5%
Newbold Morris Republican - Liberal - Fusion219,430185,248332,433200,55218,406956,06936.9%
35.3%35.5%38.2%39.7%30.6%
Vito Marcantonio American Labor 123,12882,386113,47834,6772,957356,62613.8%
19.8%15.8%13.0%6.9%4.9%
subtotal
620,901521,648871,136505,29160,2312,579,20799.6%
others 12,477 0.4%
T O T A L
 2,591,684

Other vote was: Eric Haas - Industrial Government - 7,857; Joseph G. Glass - Socialist - 3,396; Michael Bartell - Socialist Workers - 1,224

1945

1945 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
William O'Dwyer Democratic -
American Labor 		253,371227,818386,335228,27529,5581,125,35755.3%
55.8%55.3%56.8%61.5%66.3%
Jonah J. Goldstein Republican - Liberal -
Fusion		100,59195,582161,11965,2409,069431,60121.2%
22.2%23.2%23.6%17.6%21.8%
Newbold Morris No Deal 100,06488,404136,26277,6875,931408,34820.6%
22.0%21.5%19.9%20.9%13.3%
subtotal
454,026411,804683,716371,20244,5581,965,30699.1%
others 17,0550.9%
T O T A L
 1,982,361

O'Dwyer received 867,426 Democratic votes and 257,929 on the American Labor Party line. The Goldstein vote was 301,144 Republican, 122,316 Liberal and 8,141 City Fusion. The No Deal Party (according to Chris McNickle in The Encyclopedia of New York City) was founded by the retiring maverick Republican Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to draw Republican votes towards Newbold Morris and away from the official Republican Party with whom La Guardia was having a dispute. The No Deal Party dissolved soon after the 1945 election. Newbold Morris was a Republican, while Jonah Goldstein was a Democrat until nomination day. Other vote was: Joseph G. Glass - Socialist - 9,304; Farrell Dobbs - Trotskyist Anti-War - 3,656; Eric Hass - Socialist Labor - 3,465; Max Shactman - Workers - 585; Scattered - 45.

1941

As in 1937, more voters in every borough voted on the Democratic line than on any other single line; but this time (unlike 1937) the Democrat carried Queens and Staten Island over La Guardia, shrinking the Mayor's overall citywide percentage lead from 20% to 6%. As in 1937, La Guardia's overall margin of victory depended on the American Labor Party, which again won more votes than the Republicans in The Bronx. While the total vote and Republican vote were almost identical in 1937 and 1941, the ALP line lost 47,000 votes (2.4%), almost entirely from Manhattan (-18,000) and Brooklyn (-26,000), as the vote on La Guardia's other lines (Fusion, Progressive and United City) dropped from 187,000 (8.3%) to 86,000 (3.7%). The Democratic Party gained about 160,000 votes lost by La Guardia (and about 7½% of the total). In both Queens and Richmond (Staten Island), the swing was even greater: La Guardia lost over 15% of the total vote (and the Democrats gained over 15%) from 1937, as his lead there flipped from roughly 56%-44% to 39%-60%.

1941 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
change in La Guardia's margin of victory, 1937-1941– 21,481– 31,205–116,061–133,684– 19,160– 321,591– 14.5%
La Guardia's margin over Jeremiah Mahoney (1937)+ 91,989+105,517+207,869+ 40,966+ 7,533+ 453,874+ 20.3%
La Guardia's margin over O'Dwyer (1941)+ 70,508+ 74,312+ 91,808– 92,718– 11,627+ 132,283+ 5.8%
Fiorello H. La GuardiaRepublican188,851103,420242,537116,35917,318668,48529.5%
35.6%22.9%30.5%27.1%30.7%
American Labor Party81,642135,900174,60139,6933,538435,37419.2%
15.4%30.1%21.9%9.3%6.3%
City Fusion21,64214,71917,0248,7591,22363,3672.8%
United City6,0905,5685,6941,77017019,2920.9%
Total298,225259,607439,856166,58122,2491,186,51852.4%
56.2%57.6%55.2%38.8%39.4%
William O'DwyerDemocratic227,717185,295348,048259,29933,8761,054,23546.6%
42.9%41.1%43.7%60.5%60.1%
[17] George W. HartmannSocialist4,7906,0058,5742,97327422,6161.0%
T O T A L530,732450,907796,478428,85356,3992,263,369

1937

1937 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
La Guardia's margin over Mahoney + 91,989+105,517+ 207,869+ 40,966+ 7,533+ 453,874+ 20.3%
Fiorello H. La GuardiaRepublican181,51896,468228,313144,43323,879674,61130.2%
32.1%22.0%29.2%37.3%38.4%
American Labor Party99,735138,756200,78340,1533,363482,79021.6%
17.6%31.6%25.7%10.4%5.4%
Fusion39,95930,67755,42326,2177,280159,5567.1%
7.1%7.0%7.1%6.8%11.7%
Progressive 7,7836,4219,9973,13633627,6731.2%
Total
328,995272,322494,516213,93934,8581,344,63060.2%
58.1%62.0%63.3%55.3%56.1%
[18] Jeremiah T. MahoneyDemocratic233,120163,856282,137171,00227,100877,21539.2%
41.2%37.3%36.1%44.2%43.6%
Trades Union2,0441,3782,4901,0141227,0480.3%
Anti-Communist1,8421,5712,0209571036,4930.3%
Total
237,006166,805286,647172,97327,325890,75639.8%
41.9%38.0%36.7%44.7%43.9%
T O T A L
566,001439,127781,163386,91262,1832,235,386

Note that the leading line in every borough, and in the City as a whole, is the Democratic line for Judge Mahoney. Running on the Republican line alone (as he did when losing the election of 1929), Mayor La Guardia would have lost every borough, but he carried all five when the American Labor Party line was added. The ALP line did better than the Republican line in The Bronx, although worse than the Democratic one. There were also 2,307 votes for Emil Teichert on the Industrial Government line.

1933

1933 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Fiorello H. La Guardia Republican - Fusion203,479151,669331,920154,36927,085868,52240.4%
38.4%38.8%44.4%39.3%43.7%
Joseph V. McKee Recovery 123,707131,280194,558141,29618,212609,05328.3%
23.3%33.6%26.0%36.0%29.4%
John P. O'BrienDemocratic192,64993,403194,33590,50115,784586,67227.3%
36.3%23.9%26.0%23.0%25.4%
Charles SolomonSocialist10,52514,75826,9416,66995359,8463.0%
( s u b t o t a l )530,360391,110747,754392,83562,034
Robert MinorCommunist26,0441.3%
T O T A L 2,152,505

While opposed by Tammany Hall, McKee enjoyed the support of Democratic President (and former Governor) Franklin D. Roosevelt, who declared neutrality when his ally Mayor La Guardia was running for reelection in #1937. (See Ed Flynn's comments about FDR's 1936 contribution to starting the American Labor Party in the #References below.) According to Michael Tomasky, La Guardia, who had lost the #1921 Republican Mayoral primary to Manhattan Borough President Henry Curran, did not enjoy the support of a united Republican Party when he won the party's nomination and lost the general election in #1929, but was able to win over Republican organizational support in 1933.[19] The 1933 LaGuardia vote was 446,833 Republican and 421,689 City Fusion. There were also 1,778 votes for Henry Klein-Five Cent Fare & Taxpayers; 472 for Aaron Orange - Socialist Labor; and 118 for Adolph Silver - Independent Union.

Collapse of the Socialist Party vote

In 1933, a year that might otherwise have favored the Socialist Party's chances, the New Deal began, Morris Hillquit died, Norman Thomas refused to run again for mayor, and the Socialist vote (previously as high as one-eighth to one-fifth of the total) collapsed irretrievably from a quarter of a million to sixty thousand (one-thirtieth of the total). Many supporters of Thomas's 1929 campaign defected (some, like Paul Blanshard, also leaving the Party) to support Fiorello La Guardia.[20] By the time of the next mayoral election in 1937, which the Socialist Party decided by internal referendum not to contest, many reformers and trade-unionists who wanted to support major-party progressives like La Guardia (R-ALP-Fusion), Gov. Herbert Lehman (D-ALP) and Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt (D-ALP) from outside the two-party structure backed the American Labor Party (ALP), the Social Democratic Federation and later the Liberal Party of New York.[21] After a disastrous gubernatorial campaign in 1938 (where Thomas and George Hartmann won only 25,000 votes out of over 4.7 million), the Socialist Party lost its separate line on the New York ballot, allowed its members to join the ALP, and indeed encouraged them to do so. In 1939, the Socialist Harry W. Laidler, a co-founder of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society and League for Industrial Democracy, was elected (with the help of proportional representation) to the New York City Council on the ALP's ticket, but lost its renomination two years later because of rivalry with the Communists.[22]

  • [Although not apparent from the table below, the Communist Party's vote for other municipal offices, such as City Council and President of the Board of Aldermen, was increasing at the same time that the Socialist Party's was declining below the Communists'. But in 1936, when the foundation of the ALP coincided with world Communism's shift from independent action towards the Popular Front, New York City Communists redirected much of their own energy towards supporting the ALP.] [23]
The Rise and Fall of the Socialist Vote for Mayor of the City of New York
year Social-Democratic Party & Socialist Party of America votes % Socialist Labor Party votes % other left, labor & reform votes %
1897Lucien Sanial †14,4672.8%Henry George, Jefferson Dem.21,6934.1%
1901Ben Hanford [SDP]9,8341.7%Benjamin F. Keinard6,2131.1%
1903Charles Forman [SDP]16,9562.9%James Hunter5,2050.9%
1905Algernon Lee11,8172.0%John Kinneally2,2760.4%W.R. Hearst, Muni. Own'ship224,98937.2%
1909Joseph Cassidy11,7682.0%James Hunter1,2560.2%Wm R. Hearst, Civic Alliance154,18725.9%
1913Charles Edward Russell32,0575.1%William Walters1,6470.3%
1917Morris Hillquit145,33221.7%Edmund Seidel 858 0.1% George Wallace, Single Tax2580.04%
1921Jacob Panken82,6077.1%John P. Quinn1,0490.1%Jerome De Hunt, Farmer-Lab.1,0080.1%
1925Norman Thomas39,5743.5%Joseph Brandon1,6430.1%Warren Fisher, Progressive1,4980.1%
1929Norman Thomas175,69712.0%Olive M. Johnson6,4010.4%Richard Enright, Square Deal5,9650.4%
1932Morris Hillquit251,65612.6%Olive M. Johnson11,3790.5% Wm. Patterson, Communist 24,0141.2%
1933Charles Solomon59,8463.0% Robert Minor, Communist26,0441.3%
1937[no candidate]Emil Teichert 2,367 0.1%F.H. La Guardia, ALP line only482,790 21.6%
1941 [17] George W. Hartmann22,6161.0% F.H. La Guardia, ALP line only435,374 19.2%

[Click on the year for fuller details. ALP = American Labor Party (see commentary above). Socialist Labor Party candidates and votes not retrievable for every year from the sources used for this article. Readers are encouraged to supply any missing details.]

† In 1894 and in 1897, Lucien Sanial was the mayoral candidate of the Socialist Labor Party before both the SLP and the Social Democratic Party each split in two. In 1901, one faction of the SLP, led by Morris Hillquit, and one faction of the SDP, led by Eugene V. Debs, united to form the Socialist Party of America, which soon drew away many votes formerly cast for the SLP. For further details, see Hillquit's History of Socialism in the United States (1910) and Howard Quint's Forging of American Socialism (1964), both cited in the #References at the end of this article.

1932

Totals after a court-ordered recount:

Year Candidate Party Total percent
1932 (after recount) John P. O'Brien Democratic
1,054,324
(53.0%)
Lewis H. Pounds Republican
443,020
(22.3%)
Morris Hillquit Socialist
251,656
(12.6%)
Joseph V. McKee Independent/Write-in
241,899
(12.2%)

Joseph V. McKee, as the (popularly elected) President of the Board of Aldermen, became Acting Mayor upon the resignation of elected Mayor Jimmy Walker on September 1, 1932. McKee's write-in total is, in fact, the highest any New York City election would ever see. For the election after the next one, voting machines which would make write-in voting much more difficult were introduced. Machines of this basic design are still being used.

Lewis Humphrey Pounds was President of the Borough of Brooklyn from June 1913 to December 1917.[24]

This was the last of many campaigns for different offices by Morris Hillquit, a co-founder of the Socialist Party of America, who died in 1933. Hillquit had won over 21% of the vote for mayor in 1917.

  • Borough returns before the recount (which did not significantly affect the outcome):
1932 (before recount) party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
John P. O'BrienDemocratic308,944181,639358,945176,07030,5171,056,11553.2%
60.0% 50.2% 50.1%47.6%54.1%
Lewis H. PoundsRepublican116,72948,366157,152105,06816,586443,90122.0%
22.7%13.4%21.9%28.4%29.4%
Morris HillquitSocialist40,01168,980113,62224,9812,293249,88712.4%
7.8%19.1%15.8%6.8%4.1%
Joseph V. McKeeIndependent (write-in)42,29950,21273,43161,6486,782234,37211.6%
8.2%13.9%10.2%16.7%12.0%
T O T A L514,661361,612716,963370,01856,4142,019,668

There were also 24,014 votes 1.2% for William Patterson - Communist and 11,379 0.5% for Olive Johnson - Socialist Labor

1929

1929 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Jimmy Walker Democratic232,370159,948283,432166,18825,584 867,52260.7%
63.8%62.9%57.7%61.7%60.7%
Fiorello H. La Guardia Republican91,94452,646132,09575,91115,079367,67525.7%
25.3%20.7%26.9%28.2%34.0%
Norman Thomas Socialist37,31639,18171,14524,8973,248175,69712.3%
10.3%15.4%14.5%9.2%7.3%
Olive M. Johnson Socialist Labor1,2381,5772,585906956,4010.4%
Richard Edward EnrightSquare Deal 1,1218452,3611,3542845,9650.4%
subtotal
363,989254,197491,618269,25644,2901,423,26099.6%
others 6,1250.4%
T O T A L
 1,429,385

There were also 5,805 votes for William Weinstone - Communist and 320 votes for Lawrence Tracy - Commonwealth Land. The great stock market crash hit Wall Street on October 24–29, 1929, less than two weeks before Election Day. Richard Edward Enright was New York City Police Commissioner from 1918 to 1925.

1897 to 1925

¶ Basic numbers for the elections of 1897 to 1925 come from The World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1929 and 1943. Percentages and borough totals calculated independently. (Because of some anomalies, not all columns and rows add precisely.) First names and informational links gathered from Wikipedia and several external sources, including the free public archive of The New York Times.

1925

Mayor Hylan, an ally of the newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, was unseated in a venomous Democratic primary by "Gentleman" Jimmy Walker, the Democratic party leader in the New York State Senate, who had been recruited to oppose Hylan by Hearst's inveterate enemy, Democratic Governor Al Smith. After the death of Tammany Hall leader Charles F. Murphy in 1924, the regular Democratic organizations also split their allegiances, with Hylan receiving support from John McCooey, the leader in Brooklyn, and Walker from Ed Flynn of the Bronx. (Hearst had run for mayor on third-party tickets in 1909 and 1913, while Al Smith had lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for mayor in 1917, instead winning the presidency of the New York City Council as Hylan's running-mate.) [25]

1925 General Election party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Jimmy WalkerDemocratic247,079131,226244,029103,62922,724748,68765.8%
69.4% 71.8% 60.9%63.0%67.3%
[26] Frank D. Waterman Republican98,61739,615139,06058,47810,794346,56430.5%
27.7%21.7%34.7%35.6%32.0%
Norman ThomasSocialist9,48211,13316,8091,94320739,5743.5%
Joseph BrandonSocialist Labor388488591155211,6430.1%
Warren FisherProgressive387262528284371,4980.1%
TOTAL355,953182,724401,017164,48933,7831,137,966
1925 Democratic primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Jimmy Walker102,83545,30865,67128,2036,321248,33862%
79%68%52%47%34%
John Francis Hylan27,80221,22860,81432,16312,197 154,20438%
21%32%48%53%66%
subtotal (for Walker and Hylan only)130,63766,536126,48560,36618,518402,542 [100%]

1921

1921 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
John Francis HylanDemocratic261,452118,235260,14387,67622,741750,24764.2%
62.9%67.6%62.1%69.0%70.8%
Henry H. CurranRepublican - Coalition124,25334,919128,25936,4159,000332,84628.5%
29.9%20.0%30.6%28.6%28.0%
Jacob PankenSocialist28,75621,25529,5802,74127582,6077.1%
6.9%12.2%7.1%2.2%0.9%
Jerome T. De HuntFarmer Labor32113339588711,0080.1%
John P. QuinnSocialist Labor316244346123201,0490.1%
George K. HindsProhibition375120390111141,0100.1%
TOTAL415,473174,906419,113127,15432,1211,168,767

Henry Curran was the borough president of Manhattan and heavily defeated Fiorello H. La Guardia, president of the board of aldermen, in the Republican primary election for mayor.

1917

1917 party Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
John Francis HylanDemocratic113,72841,546114,48735,3998,850314,01046.6%
46.4% 42.9%46.5%51.7%58.2%
John Purroy MitchelFusion 66,74819,24752,92113,6412,940155,49723.1%
27.3%19.9%21.5%19.9%19.4%
Morris HillquitSocialist51,17630,37448,88013,4771,425145,33221.6%
20.9%31.4%19.9%19.7%9.4%
William M. BennettRepublican13,2305,57629,7485,9161,96856,4388.4%
5.4%5.8%12.1%8.6%13.0%
Subtotal244,88296,743246,03668,43315,183671,277 99.7%
David Leigh Colvin Prohibition   897 0.1%
Edmund Seidel Socialist Labor   858 0.1%
George Wallace Single Tax   268 0.04%
T O T A L  673,300100.0%

Notes: The Single Tax on land values was the proposal and platform of Henry George, who ran for mayor in 1897 and 1886. D. Leigh Colvin later contested the U.S. presidential election of 1936 for the Prohibition Party.

The Fall 1917 election would have been exciting even had it occurred in peacetime. In September, the City held its first-ever primary elections for mayor. The sitting independent Democratic Mayor, John P. Mitchel, who had enjoyed Republican support under Fusion in 1913, narrowly lost the Republican primary to William Bennett, after mistakes and frauds led to a series of recounts. When negotiations between the parties failed, Mitchel ran alone as a Fusion candidate against Bennett, the Socialist Morris Hillquit and John F. Hylan, the regular Democrat supported by Tammany Hall and William Randolph Hearst.

However, the elections happened after the United States had declared war on April 6. Hillquit and the Socialist Party quickly and vigorously opposed the war, which Mitchel vigorously supported. Hillquit's anti-war position helped the Socialists win their highest-ever vote for mayor, but also led to vitriolic denunciations by many, including The New York Times and former President Theodore Roosevelt. Mitchel and Hillquit each won less than quarter of the vote, while Hylan, who had been non-committal about the war, won the election with less than half the vote. However, as in 1897, the numbers suggest that Tammany Hall might have won even against a unified opposition.

1897 to 1913

The Bronx and Manhattan, although separate Boroughs since 1898, shared New York County and reported their votes together until Bronx County was formed in April 1912 and came into its separate existence on January 1, 1914.

[ The World Almanac does not list separate returns for the two boroughs until 1917, but The Encyclopedia of New York City (see Sources) gives these major candidates' results for 1913:

1913 party The Bronx and Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
John Purroy Mitchel Fusion178,224137,07434,2798,604 358,18157.1%
54.7%60.2%59.6%54.4%
Edward E. McCall Democratic129,11377,82620,0976,883233,919 37.3%
39.6%34.2%35.0%43.3%
Charles Edward RussellSocialist17,38311,5602,86524932,0575.1%
William WaltersSocialist Labor952538129281,6470.3%
Norman RaymondProhibition412587118961,2130.2%
TOTAL326,084227,58557,48815,860627,017

Mayor William Jay Gaynor, who had survived being shot in the throat by a disappointed office-seeker in 1910, died at sea from the indirect effects of his injury on September 10, 1913. He was succeeded for the rest of 1913 by Ardolph Loges Kline, the acting president of the board of aldermen.

1909 party The Bronx and Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
William Jay Gaynor Democratic 134,07591,66617,5707,067250,37842.1%
42.5% 41.9% 38.4% 47.1%
William Randolph Hearst Civic Alliance87,15549,04015,1862,806154,18725.9%
27.6%22.4%33.2%18.7%
Otto T. Bannard Republican - Fusion86,49773,86011,9075,049177,31329.8%
27.4%33.8%26.0%33.6%
Joseph CassidySocialist6,8113,8741,0047911,7682.0%
[27] James T. HunterSocialist Labor81336956181,2560.2%
TOTAL315,351218,80945,72315,019594,902
1905 party The Bronx and Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
George B. McClellan, Jr. Democratic 140,26468,78813,2286,127228,40737.8%
41.6%31.4%37.6%44.1%
William Randolph Hearst Municipal Ownership League123,29284,83513,7663,096224,98937.2%
36.6%38.8%39.2%22.3%
[28] William M. Ivins, Sr. Republican64,28061,1927,2134,499137,18422.7%
19.1%28.0%20.5%32.4%
Algernon LeeSocialist7,4663,38784711711,8172.0%
John KinneallySocialist Labor1,48565795392,2760.4%
TOTAL336,787218,85935,14913,878604,673
1903 party The Bronx and Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
George B. McClellan, Jr. Democratic188,681102,56917,0746,458314,78253.4%
56.1%48.8%56.5%48.1%
Seth Low Fusion132,178101,25111,9606,697252,086 42.7%
39.3%48.2%39.6%49.9%
Charles FormanSocial Democratic11,3184,52997613316,9562.9%
[27] James T. HunterSocialist Labor3,5401,411178765,2050.9%
John McKeeProhibition37639647508690.1%
TOTAL336,093210,15630,23513,414589,898
1901 party The Bronx and Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Edward M. Shepard Democratic156,63188,85813,6796,009265,177 45.8%
47.4%42.7%49.4%46.1%
Seth Low Fusion162,298114,62513,1186,772296,81351.2%
49.1%55.0%47.4%51.9%
Benjamin HanfordSocial Democratic6,4092,6926131209,8341.7%
Benjamin F. KeinardSocialist Labor4,3231,638181716,2131.1%
Alfred L. ManierreProhibition61750174721,2640.2%
TOTAL330,278208,31427,66513,044579,301
1897 party The Bronx and Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Richmond [Staten Is.] Total %
Robert A. Van WyckDemocratic143,66676,1859,2754,871 233,99744.7%
48.0%40.1%40.7%43.5%
Seth Low Citizens' Union77,21065,6565,8762,798151,54028.9%
25.8%34.6%25.8%25.0%
Benjamin F. Tracy Republican55,83437,6115,6392,779101,863 19.5%
18.6%19.8%24.7%24.8%
† Henry GeorgeJefferson Democracy13,0766,9381,09658321,6934.1%
Lucien Sanial Socialist Labor9,7963,59392115714,4672.8%
TOTAL299,582189,98322,80711,188523,560

The election of 1897 was held just before the Five Boroughs formally consolidated into Greater New York in 1898, so it was the present city's first mayoral election. For preliminary results for all the municipal offices, broken down into smaller districts, see "Democrats Take All - The Tammany Ticket Makes Almost a Clean Sweep of the Greater City - Only Two Republicans in the Council..." in The New-York Times, November 4, 1897 (seen April 11, 2008).

† Henry George, author of Progress and Poverty and proponent of the Single Tax on land, died (probably from the strain of campaign speeches) on October 29, four days before Election Day; his son was nominated to take his place representing "The Democracy of Thomas Jefferson".[29] [In 1886, George had been the United Labor Party's candidate for Mayor of the smaller City of New York, now the Borough of Manhattan, winning 68,110 votes to 90,552 for the Democrat Abram Hewitt and 60,435 for the Republican Theodore Roosevelt, although George's supporters maintained that he had lost the election through fraud.] [30]

For Lucien Sanial, see the table notes under #Collapse of the Socialist Party vote above (1933) and ALL THEY NEED IS VOTES; THREE CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR WHO WOULD MAKE A STIR. in The New-York Times for Wednesday, November 4, 1894, page 19.

It appears from the percentages to be an open question whether the Republican Party's decision in 1897 not to support Seth Low's Fusion campaign caused his defeat by splitting the vote against Tammany Hall. Republicans withdrew in Low's favor in 1901 (when he won) and in 1903 (when he lost).

See also

References

  1. ↑ For further details, see Third Term No Charm, Historians Say by Sewell Chan, The New York Times "City Room", published and retrieved on October 1, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Sewell Chan and Jonathan P. Hicks, Council Votes, 29 to 22, to Extend Term Limits, The New York Times, published on-line and retrieved on October 23, 2008
  3. ↑ Fernanda Santos: The Future of Term Limits Is in Court, The New York Times, New York edition, October 24, 2008, page A24 (retrieved on October 24, 2008), Judge Rejects Suit Over Term Limits, The New York Times, New York edition, January 14, 2009, page A26, and Appeals Court Upholds Term Limits Revision, The New York Times City Room Blog, April 28, 2009 (both retrieved on July 6, 2009). The original January decision by Judge Charles Sifton of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island) was upheld by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Vermont, Connecticut and New York state).
  4. 1 2 Hernandez, Javier C. (November 3, 2010). "Term Limits in New York City Are Approved Again". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ See, for example, these stories from The New York Times: "In Crisis Giuliani’s Popularity Overflows City", by Jennifer Steinhauer, Sept. 20, 2001, "A Shift in the Ritual, and Meaning, of Voting", by Mirta Ojito, Sept. 26, 2001 and "Giuliani Explores A Term Extension Of 2 Or 3 Months", by Jennifer Steinhauer with Michael Cooper, September 27, 2001.
  6. ↑ Sewell Chan, Bloomberg Says He Wants a Third Term as Mayor, The New York Times, published and retrieved on October 2, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Term limits will land on city ballot in Nov". New York Post. August 12, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Statement and Return Report for Certification - General Election - November 5, 2013" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Board of Elections in the City of New York, Citywide Democratic Mayor Recap (pdf), Friday, September 27, 2013, retrieved Sunday, September 29, 2013
  10. ↑ Board of Elections in the City of New York, Citywide Republican Mayor Recap (pdf), Friday, September 27, 2013, retrieved Sunday, September 29, 2013
  11. ↑ For the first seven candidates, see Emily S. Rebb, "Seven Others Striving to Win the Mayor's Job", The New York Times, published on line October 13, 2009, retrieved October 14, 2009
  12. ↑ Board of Elections in the City of New York, Statement and Return Report for Certification General Election 2009 - 11/03/2009 Crossover - All Parties and Independent Bodies Mayor Citywide (PDF), November 24, 2009, retrieved on November 27, 2009
  13. ↑ Board of Elections in the City of New York, Statement and Return Report for Certification Primary Election 2009 - 09/15/2009 Crossover - Democratic Party Democratic Mayor Citywide (PDF), September 25–26, 2009, retrieved on October 21, 2009
  14. ↑ page 437 of The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York By Vincent J. Cannato (Basic Books, 2001, ISBN 0-465-00843-7)
  15. ↑ Page 41 of the 1966 World Almanac & Book of Facts and page 69 of Cannato's The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York
  16. ↑ To be Mayor of New York: Ethnic Politics in the City, by Chris McNickle (Columbia University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-231-07636-3, page 175: free preview was available on June 20, 2008 at https://books.google.com/books?id=ONlCSIMrV_kC&pg=PA175)
  17. 1 2 A full biographical sketch of Prof. Hartmann is in "The perils of a public intellectual - George W. Hartmann" by Benjamin Harris Journal of Social Issues, Spring, 1998 — available in April 2008 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0341/is_n1_v54/ai_21107569
  18. ↑ A brief profile of Judge Jeremiah Titus Mahoney can be found within this article, "Up Again, Down Again", Time, Monday, August 16, 1937
  19. ↑ Michael Tomasky, "New York's Finest" (a review of The Great Mayor: Fiorello La Guardia and the Making of the City of New York, by Alyn Brodsky), New York Review of Books, February 12, 2004, page 28, available by subscription or payment at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=16898
  20. ↑ pages 105-107 of Bernard K. Johnpoll's Pacifist's Progress: Norman Thomas and the decline of American socialism, Quadrangle (Chicago) 1970: ISBN 0-8129-0152-5
  21. ↑ See pages 113-116 of The Emerging Republican Majority by Kevin Phillips (Doubleday Anchor paperback edition 1970). According to the March 1950 reminiscences of FDR's advisor Ed Flynn, "President Roosevelt with Jim Farley and myself, brought the American Labor Party into being. It was entirely Roosevelt's suggestion. Farley and I never believed in it very much, but he felt at the time—and it is true today—that there were many people who believed in what Roosevelt stood for but who, for some reason or another...would not join the Democratic party. If another party were created, you could bring these people into it actively. That was really why it was created." cited in It Didn't Happen Here: Why socialism failed in the United States, by Seymour Martin Lipset and Gary Marks (New York, 2000: W.W. Norton, ISBN 0-393-04098-4), page 342 note 56
  22. ↑ Johnpoll, Pacifist's Progress, pages 194-5
  23. ↑ Pages 265-269 of Harvey Klehr's The Heyday of American Communism: the Depression decade Basic Books (NY) 1984 ISBN 0-465-02945-0 & ISBN 0-465-02946-9
  24. ↑ World Statesmen—Boroughs of New York City retrieved on June 25, 2008. See also the entry for "Borough Presidents" by Nora L. Mandel in The Encyclopedia of New York City (Yale 1995), cited in Sources below.
  25. ↑ Robert A. Slayton, Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, The Free Press, New York, 2001, ISBN 0-684-86302-2, pages 115-116 and 221-225. See also New York City mayoral election, 1917.
  26. ↑ "Frank D. Waterman's Run for Mayor: New York City, 1925" from The PENnant (the magazine of the Pen Collectors of America) 1995 and also the Wikipedia article about his father, Lewis Waterman
  27. 1 2 James T. Hunter (1870-1952), silversmith, ran also for Mayor of New York City in 1903, and for Lieutenant Governor in 1910. See his Obituary in The New York Times, January 7, 1952, page 19 (subscription or payment required)
  28. ↑ William M. Ivins, Sr. (1851–1915). See the Wikipedia entry for Ivins' son, William Mills Ivins, Jr. (1881–1961) and a long, contemporary New York Sunday Times magazine feature article, "William M. Ivins, a Man of Many Facets; A Character Study of the Republican Candidate for the Mayoralty" (October 22, 1905, page SM1).
  29. ↑ The Single Tax Movement in the United States by Arthur Nichols Young (Princeton, 1916), page 152
  30. ↑ Young, The Single Tax Movement in the United States, page 95. See also History of Socialism in the United States by Morris Hillquit (5th edition, New York 1910, reprinted New York 1971 by Dover: ISBN 0-486-22767-7), pages 249-253, and The Forging of American Socialism by Howard Quint (2nd edition, Indianapolis 1964: Bobbs-Merrill), pages 37-43.

Sources

Many sources have been consulted and compared, but the most important ones are these:

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