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De Blasio First in Mayoral Primary; Unclear if He Avoids a Runoff | De Blasio First in Mayoral Primary; Unclear if He Avoids a Runoff |
(35 minutes later) | |
Bill de Blasio, whose campaign for mayor of New York tapped into a city’s deepening unease with income inequality and aggressive police practices, captured far more votes than any of his rivals in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. | |
But even as Mr. de Blasio, an activist-turned-operative and now the New York City public advocate, celebrated a remarkable come-from-behind surge, it was not clear if he had won the 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff Oct. 1 with William C. Thompson Jr., the second-place finisher. Elections officials said it could take a week to count all ballots. | |
Mr. Thompson vowed to fight on. “Tonight is for every one of you out there who have ever been counted out,” he told a jubilant crowd chanting “Three more weeks.” | |
The winner of an unusually spirited Republican contest was Joseph J. Lhota, a no-nonsense former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He defeated John A. Catsimatidis, a voluble billionaire who ran an often whimsical campaign. | |
Mr. Lhota, who served as deputy mayor to Rudolph W. Giuliani, will carry his tough-minded approach to public safety and city spending into the general election on Nov. 5. | |
In the unexpectedly heated race for the sleepy office of city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, who was supported by the Democratic establishment, defeated a last-minute comeback attempt by Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as governor over his use of prostitutes. | |
Mr. Lhota, a vocal supporter of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s policies, called his nomination “the first step in continuing a strong future for our city.” | |
By contrast, Mr. de Blasio’s vow to make a clean break from the Bloomberg era struck a chord with Democratic voters worried about jobs and schools. Roughly three in four wanted to move the city in a different direction after 12 years with Mr. Bloomberg, an exit poll found. | |
Until a few months ago, Mr. de Blasio had been a distant fourth in the crowded Democratic field, well behind Christine C. Quinn, the longtime front-runner, who rose to prominence as the speaker of the City Council and a close ally of Mr. Bloomberg. Mr. de Blasio, propelled by an unrelenting critique of the mayor, frustrated Ms. Quinn’s painstakingly cultivated effort to become the first woman and the first openly gay person to lead the city. | |
Mr. Thompson, who nearly unseated Mr. Bloomberg in 2009, struggled to win over nonwhite voters who were crucial to his campaign as the only black candidate in the race. | |
Mr. de Blasio, a white Brooklynite who frequently showcased his biracial family, built a broad coalition of support among nearly every category of Democratic primary voters on Tuesday, according to the exit poll by Edison Research. Men and women, whites and Hispanics, and residents of all boroughs except the Bronx favored Mr. de Blasio. | |
“I love his message about the tale of two cities, the big inequality gap,” said Jelani Wheeler, 19, a politics student at St. John’s University in Queens. | |
“We can start correcting many important issues the city is facing, issues often ignored by the Bloomberg administration,” he added. | |
Though Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by six to one, the city has not elected a Democratic mayor since 1989. But the white voters who helped elect Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Bloomberg are a less potent political force in a city where ethnic and racial minorities now make up a majority of the population. | |
Mr. de Blasio, 52, inspired Democrats angry about how the economy and police practices affected them personally, as well as those who felt uncomfortable on their behalf. | Mr. de Blasio, 52, inspired Democrats angry about how the economy and police practices affected them personally, as well as those who felt uncomfortable on their behalf. |
Mr. de Blasio promised to end racial profiling, overhaul stop-and-frisk and replace Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. His critique of the police went further than that of either Ms. Quinn or Mr. Thompson — and he memorably deployed his teenage son, Dante, to make his case in a compelling television advertisement. | Mr. de Blasio promised to end racial profiling, overhaul stop-and-frisk and replace Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. His critique of the police went further than that of either Ms. Quinn or Mr. Thompson — and he memorably deployed his teenage son, Dante, to make his case in a compelling television advertisement. |
Addressing widespread concerns about the gap between the city’s rich and poor, Mr. de Blasio also proposed a tax on the wealthy to pay for universal prekindergarten — though his rhetoric made it sometimes seem unclear which was the end and which the means. | Addressing widespread concerns about the gap between the city’s rich and poor, Mr. de Blasio also proposed a tax on the wealthy to pay for universal prekindergarten — though his rhetoric made it sometimes seem unclear which was the end and which the means. |
His tax-the-rich proposal was dismissed by his rivals, who said it would never be approved in Albany. But at times Ms. Quinn and Mr. Thompson were left in the unwelcome position of sounding like proponents of the status quo, at a moment when voters made clear they were impatient to be led in a different direction. | His tax-the-rich proposal was dismissed by his rivals, who said it would never be approved in Albany. But at times Ms. Quinn and Mr. Thompson were left in the unwelcome position of sounding like proponents of the status quo, at a moment when voters made clear they were impatient to be led in a different direction. |
Mr. de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” theme — tried in the past by other candidates in New York and nationally with little success — resonated. | Mr. de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” theme — tried in the past by other candidates in New York and nationally with little success — resonated. |
Mr. de Blasio gained support from black voters like Jennifer Ward, 59, of Brownsville, Brooklyn, who on Tuesday helped her 85-year-old mother, in a flowing white dress with black polka-dots, up the steps of the Brownsville Beacon Community Center and into the big gymnasium. | Mr. de Blasio gained support from black voters like Jennifer Ward, 59, of Brownsville, Brooklyn, who on Tuesday helped her 85-year-old mother, in a flowing white dress with black polka-dots, up the steps of the Brownsville Beacon Community Center and into the big gymnasium. |
“He’s strong and he fights,” said Ms. Ward, a nurse, who was impressed by Mr. de Blasio’s efforts to prevent the closing of local hospitals. “Even if he has to stand alone, he fights for us.” | “He’s strong and he fights,” said Ms. Ward, a nurse, who was impressed by Mr. de Blasio’s efforts to prevent the closing of local hospitals. “Even if he has to stand alone, he fights for us.” |
Ms. Quinn’s weak performance was a disappointment for a politician whose career as speaker appeared built upon a belief that helping Mr. Bloomberg with his agenda would give her a record of accomplishments to run on herself. | Ms. Quinn’s weak performance was a disappointment for a politician whose career as speaker appeared built upon a belief that helping Mr. Bloomberg with his agenda would give her a record of accomplishments to run on herself. |
Her crucial role in making Mr. Bloomberg’s third term possible antagonized a huge swath of Democratic voters who showed they were unwilling to forgive and forget. | Her crucial role in making Mr. Bloomberg’s third term possible antagonized a huge swath of Democratic voters who showed they were unwilling to forgive and forget. |
Mr. Thompson relied on a campaign strategy built on old-fashioned New York City identity politics and electoral arithmetic. He worked hard to enlist support from establishment political players, while obtaining important municipal unions’ endorsements. | Mr. Thompson relied on a campaign strategy built on old-fashioned New York City identity politics and electoral arithmetic. He worked hard to enlist support from establishment political players, while obtaining important municipal unions’ endorsements. |
The police, the firefighters, the transit workers and, most important, the teachers all lined up behind Mr. Thompson; the teachers’ union alone spent about $2.6 million on his behalf. | The police, the firefighters, the transit workers and, most important, the teachers all lined up behind Mr. Thompson; the teachers’ union alone spent about $2.6 million on his behalf. |
Pointing to his record as a behind-the-scenes power broker as school board president and as a fiscal steward while city comptroller, Mr. Thompson positioned himself as the adult in the Democratic field, running well to the right of Mr. de Blasio — and even campaigning with former Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato, once the state Republican kingpin. | Pointing to his record as a behind-the-scenes power broker as school board president and as a fiscal steward while city comptroller, Mr. Thompson positioned himself as the adult in the Democratic field, running well to the right of Mr. de Blasio — and even campaigning with former Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato, once the state Republican kingpin. |
The Democrats had been jockeying for position ever since Mr. Bloomberg squeezed out a narrower-than-expected victory over Mr. Thompson four years ago. The presumptive favorite a year ago was Ms. Quinn, given her close ties to Mr. Bloomberg and the business community and a daunting $3 million war chest that she had rolled over from before the 2009 election. | The Democrats had been jockeying for position ever since Mr. Bloomberg squeezed out a narrower-than-expected victory over Mr. Thompson four years ago. The presumptive favorite a year ago was Ms. Quinn, given her close ties to Mr. Bloomberg and the business community and a daunting $3 million war chest that she had rolled over from before the 2009 election. |
But the race hardly unfolded according to script. | But the race hardly unfolded according to script. |
John C. Liu, the city comptroller, who many believed had a good shot at becoming the city’s first Asian-American mayor, was badly damaged by a federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising operation that resulted in the convictions of two associates. | |
Ms. Quinn’s early lead in the polls began to erode this spring, as a group of animal-rights supporters and other detractors made a series of television commercials mocking her mayoral ambitions, and her rivals assailed her coziness with Mr. Bloomberg. | |
But nothing upended the race as much as the late entrance of former Representative Anthony D. Weiner, who had resigned from Congress in 2011 over sexually explicit online messages to several women. | But nothing upended the race as much as the late entrance of former Representative Anthony D. Weiner, who had resigned from Congress in 2011 over sexually explicit online messages to several women. |
Mr. Weiner calculated that voters would care more about their future than his past, and at first, with a carefully choreographed rollout, a generous dose of bravado and some policies intended to help the middle class, he soared to the top of some polls. | Mr. Weiner calculated that voters would care more about their future than his past, and at first, with a carefully choreographed rollout, a generous dose of bravado and some policies intended to help the middle class, he soared to the top of some polls. |
But the revelation that Mr. Weiner had continued his sexually explicit online communications long after he had resigned from Congress, using the nom de plume Carlos Danger, prompted Democrats to look elsewhere. | But the revelation that Mr. Weiner had continued his sexually explicit online communications long after he had resigned from Congress, using the nom de plume Carlos Danger, prompted Democrats to look elsewhere. |
Allison Kopicki, Nate Schweber and Megan Thee-Brenan contributed reporting. | Allison Kopicki, Nate Schweber and Megan Thee-Brenan contributed reporting. |