The 2013 New York City mayoral election occurred on November 5, 2013, along with elections for

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...

Public Advocate An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, Borough President, and members of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

. The incumbent

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

-turned-

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, was term-limited and thus unable to seek re-election to a fourth term in office. Primary elections were held on September 10, 2013. The Republican nominee was former

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

Chairman

Joe Lhota Joseph J. Lhota (; born October 7, 1954) is an American public servant and a former politician who served as the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and was also a former deputy mayor of New York City. He was the Republican n ...

New York City Public Advocate The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government ...

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Y ...

was the Democratic nominee. De Blasio was elected mayor with 73.15% of the vote, becoming the first Democrat to win a mayoral election in the city since

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. This election ended the Republicans five-winning streak. This election had the lowest turnout in a New York mayoral election since the participation of women in 1917, with a turnout of 13.4% of registered voters.

Background

Republican and Republican-endorsed candidates had won five successive mayoral elections in New York City. Republican

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

was elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1997. Republican

was then elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He left the Republican Party in 2007, and successfully persuaded the city council to extend the city's term limits law so that he could run for a third term. He was re-elected as an Independent on the Republican and

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

/Jobs & Education ballot lines in 2009. The term limits law was subsequently changed by a referendum in 2010, reverting the limit to two terms.

Democratic primary

As the campaign started, early polling showed city council speaker

Christine Quinn Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and first ...

as the frontrunner. However, she was hampered by running what was widely viewed as a poor campaign, and by her connections to incumbent mayor Bloomberg. As Quinn declined in the polls, former U.S. Representative

Anthony Weiner Anthony David Weiner (; born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he consistently carried the district with at l ...

became the new frontrunner, helped by his popularity with women voters. However, Weiner's campaign collapsed after it was revealed that he had continued to engage in

sexting Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized early in the 21st ...

after he had resigned from congress due to a previous sexting scandal. After this development,

surged in the polls, helped by several ads featuring de Blasio's interracial family, especially his son Dante, and by a campaign focusing on inequality, with de Blasio frequently referencing the novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...

''. A week prior to the election, de Blasio was considered the frontrunner, and his campaign was given a boost when Mayor Bloomberg described it as "racist," outraging Democratic voters and causing them to rally around de Blasio's campaign.

Candidates

Declared

Sal Albanese Sal F. Albanese (born August 29, 1949) is a politician from New York City. He served as a New York City Council member, and ran unsuccessfully for several other public offices including New York State Assembly, United States Congress, and Mayor ...

, former New York City Councilman * Ceceilia Berkowitz, social media journalist *

Randy Credico Randolph A. Credico (born 1954) is an American perennial political candidate, comedian, radio host, and activist, and the former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice. Entertainment career Credico was formerly active o ...

, comedian and former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice *

* John Liu,

New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the ...

, speaker of the

* Erick Salgado, Pastor of the Church of Iglesia Jovenes Cristianos * Bill Thompson, former

and nominee for Mayor in 2009 *

, former U.S. Representative for

Withdrew

* Tom Allon, CEO of

Manhattan Media Manhattan Media is an American media company based in New York City that publishes a variety of community and political newspapers and lifestyle magazines. The company is owned by Isis Ventures Partners . Overview In 2001, the company acquired ' ...

and former New York City public school teacher (initially declared as a Democrat; then withdrew and declared as a Republican; also received the nomination of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, before dropping out entirely)

Declined

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nic ...

, actor *

William J. Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016). He previously served as the Commissioner of th ...

, former

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, former

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

and former U.S. Senator * Rubén Díaz Jr., Bronx Borough President *

Gregory Floyd Gregory Floyd is the President of Teamsters Local 237, City Employees Union in New York, a position he has held since March 30, 2007. Background Gregory Floyd began his career as a hospital police officer over twenty years ago. A committed worke ...

, president of the New York City

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

union * Leo Hindery, businessman *

Marty Markowitz Martin Markowitz (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who served as the borough president of Brooklyn, New York City. He was first elected in 2001 after serving 23 years as a New York State Senator. His third and final term end ...

, Borough President of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Eva Moskowitz Eva Sarah Moskowitz (born March 4, 1964) is an American politician and education reform leader, who is the founder and CEO of the Success Academy Charter Schools. A member of the Democratic Party, Moskowitz served on the New York City Council, ...

, CEO of the Success Academy Charter Schools and former

woman *

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

, former

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

* Scott Stringer, borough president of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

(ran for Comptroller) * Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the

New York State Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depa ...

* Christopher O. Ward, former director of the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

Mortimer Zuckerman Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman (born June 4, 1937) is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate inv ...

, businessman

Graphical summary

Polling

Runoff

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

John Catsimatidis John A. Catsimatidis (born September 7, 1948) is an American billionaire businessman and radio talk show host. He is the owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes Foods, a grocery chain in Manhattan, and the Red Apple Group, a real estate ...

, businessman, owner of companies including the Red Apple Group, the

Gristedes Gristedes is a New York City-based chain of supermarkets. It serves a mostly urban customer base. History Gristede Brothers: 1891-1987 Charles Gristede and his brother Diedrich came to the United States from Germany in 1888, found work in gro ...

supermarket chain and the

United Refining Company The United Refining Company (URC) is an oil company in Warren, Pennsylvania. The company operates an oil refinery in Warren that can process 70,000 barrels of oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum distillates per day. It distributes g ...

(received the

nomination; then withdrew after losing the Republican primary) *

, former chairman of the

(also received the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Party nomination) * George T. McDonald, founder of

The Doe Fund The Doe Fund is a nonprofit organization in the United States that provides paid transitional work, housing, educational opportunities, counseling, and career training to people with histories of homelessness, incarceration, and substance abuse. ...

Withdrew

* Tom Allon, CEO of

and former New York City public school teacher (initially declared as a Democrat; then withdrew and declared as a Republican; also received the nomination of the

, before dropping out entirely) *

Adolfo Carrión Jr. Adolfo Carrión Jr. (born March 6, 1961) is an American businessman and former elected official from City Island. He has three sisters Elizabeth Carrión-Stevens, Damaris Carrión-Harris and Lizette Carrión. He served one term as a member of th ...

, former director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs and former Borough President of

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

(a Democrat-turned-Independent, Carrión tried unsuccessfully to receive a

Wilson Pakula A Wilson Pakula is an authorization given by a political party to a candidate for public office in the State of New York that allows the candidate not registered with that party to run as its candidate in a given election. The name refers to the ...

in order to run as a Republican; received the nomination of the Independence Party) * Malcolm Smith, state senator, former

lieutenant governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket w ...

and former

Majority Leader of the New York State Senate The Majority leader of the New York State Senate is elected by the majority of the members of the New York State Senate. The position usually coincides with the title of temporary president of the State Senate, who presides over the session of th ...

(a Democrat, Smith would have had to change his party affiliation or receive a

in order to run as a Republican. He and several others were arrested for trying to bribe Republican leaders to give him a Wilson Pakula)

Declined

A. R. Bernard Alfonso R. Bernard, Sr. (born August 10, 1953) is the founder, CEO and pastor of the Christian Cultural Center Megachurch in Brooklyn, New York. In the 2020s, the CCC is a 37,000+ member church that sits on an -acre campus in Brooklyn, New York. ...

, pastor * Dan Donovan,

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

, former mayor of New York City *

Martin Golden Martin J. Golden (born September 22, 1950) is an American politician from Brooklyn, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City. A Republican, Golden represented the 43rd district in the New York City Council from 1998 to 2002 and re ...

, state senator *

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

, actor *

Richard Grasso Richard A. "Dick" Grasso (born July 26, 1946 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York (state), New York) was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003. He started in 1968 when he was hired by the Exchange as a floo ...

, former chairman of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

* Raymond Kelly,

of the

Richard Parsons Richard Parsons may refer to: * Richard Parsons (diplomat) (1928–2016), British ambassador to Hungary, Spain and Sweden * Richard Parsons (businessman) (born 1948), former chairman of Citigroup and the former Chairman and CEO of Time Warner * Ri ...

, chairman of

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi ( stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomera ...

Edward Skyler Edward "Ed" Skyler is an American politician and businessperson. He was Deputy Mayor for Operations for New York City, the youngest deputy mayor in New York City's history. In 2010, he was named the senior public and governmental relations execu ...

, executive at Citigroup and former deputy mayor for operations * Diana Taylor, former New York State Banking Department superintendent and partner of Mayor Bloomberg

Graphical summary

Polling

Bribery scandal

On April 2, 2013, federal law enforcement officers arrested numerous New York City-area politicians. These included Democratic state senator Malcolm Smith and Republican city councilman

Dan Halloran Daniel J. Halloran III (born March 16, 1971) is a former member of the New York City Council. He was indicted on corruption charges in 2013, did not run for reelection, was convicted in July 2014, and is currently back in the private sector on L ...

, who were charged with trying to bribe various Republican political leaders so as to get Smith onto the ballot as a Republican. The Mayor of Spring Valley and local Republican party leaders were also arrested.

Endorsements

Results

Major third parties

Besides the Democratic and Republican parties, the

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

and Working Families parties are

qualified New York parties In New York State, to qualify for automatic ballot access, a party must have qualify every two years by receiving the greater 130,000 votes or 2% of the vote in the previous gubernatorial election or presidential election.Joe Lhota Joseph J. Lhota (; born October 7, 1954) is an American public servant and a former politician who served as the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and was also a former deputy mayor of New York City. He was the Republican n ...

, former chairman of the MTA

Unsuccessful

* George McDonald, founder of

* Erick Salgado, Pastor of the Church of Iglesia Jovenes Cristianos

Green

Nominee

* Anthony Gronowicz, activist, professor and nominee for Mayor in 2005

Independence

Nominee

, former director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs and former Borough President of

Working Families

Nominee

Unsuccessful

* John Liu,

, Speaker of the

Minor third parties

Any candidate not among the six

Freedom

Nominee

* Michael K. Greys

Flourish Every Person

Nominee

* Michael J. Dilger

Jobs & Education

Nominee

* Jack Hidary

Liberal

After the party twice endorsed a candidate for mayor, only to see them withdraw from the race, the party declined to endorse a third candidate, although they did consider endorsing Jack Hidary.

Unsuccessful

* Jack Hidary

Withdrew

* Tom Allon, CEO of

and former New York City public school teacher (had initially declared as a Democrat; then withdrew and declared as a Republican, also receiving the nomination of the Liberal Party, before dropping out entirely) *

, businessman, owner of companies including the Red Apple Group, the

supermarket chain and the

(received the nomination after Allon withdrew, dropped out entirely after he lost the Republican primary to Joe Lhota) *

, former director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs and former Borough President of

, former chairman of the MTA

Libertarian

was originally nominated as the Libertarian candidate during the Party Convention held on April 6, 2013, a nomination he declined. It was soon after ruled by the Libertarian Executive Committee that this nomination was invalid and void due to the attending voters of this first Convention not being properly credentialed. A second nominating convention was held on June 11, 2013, which nominated Michael Sanchez.

Nominee

* Michael Sanchez, activist

Unsuccessful

, comedian and former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice

Withdrew

Kristin M. Davis Kristin M. Davis, previously known as the Manhattan Madam, is a former madam who was known for running a high-end prostitution ring in New York City which claimed to have offered its services to several high-profile clients, including Eliot Spitze ...

, former

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ''madam ...

and Anti-Prohibition Party nominee for Governor of New York in 2010 (running for Comptroller) *

, former chairman of the MTA

Reform Party of New York City

Nominee

Carl Person Carl E. Person (pronounced /ˈpir sən/) (born July 20, 1936) is an American attorney and politician. He founded the Paralegal Institute in the early 1970s and played a pivotal role in creating the paralegal field. He has also run unsuccessfully ...

, attorney and Libertarian nominee for

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Rent Is Too Damn High

Nominee

Jimmy McMillan James McMillan III (born December 1, 1946) is an American political activist, perennial candidate, and Vietnam War veteran. McMillan is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based political party. McMillan h ...

, party founder and perennial candidate

School Choice

Nominee

* Erick Salgado

Socialist Workers

Nominee

* Dan Fein, nominee for governor in

, Mayor in 2009 and for Comptroller in 2005

Students First

Nominee

Tax Wall Street

Nominee

Taxes 2 High

Nominee

War Veterans

Nominee

Sam Sloan Samuel Howard Sloan (born September 7, 1944) is an American perennial candidate and former broker-dealer. In 1978, he won a case ''pro se'' before the United States Supreme Court, becoming the last non-lawyer to argue a case in front of the cour ...

, chess player, publisher and Libertarian candidate for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Independent

Candidates

Unsuccessful

* Michael Post, sewage treatment worker

Declined

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

, actor * Raymond Kelly,

of the

General election

Graphical summary

Polling

;With Kelly ;With Lhota ;Three-way race ;Four-way race ;Open primary

Results

Results by borough

References

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

New York City mayoral New York City mayoral

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Bill de Blasio

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Graphical summary

Polling

Runoff

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Graphical summary

Polling

Bribery scandal

Endorsements

Results

Major third parties

Unsuccessful

Green

Nominee

Independence

Nominee

Working Families

Nominee

Unsuccessful

Minor third parties

Freedom

Nominee

Flourish Every Person

Nominee

Jobs & Education

Nominee

Liberal

Unsuccessful

Withdrew

Libertarian

Nominee

Unsuccessful

Withdrew

Reform Party of New York City

Nominee

Rent Is Too Damn High

Nominee

School Choice

Nominee

Socialist Workers

Nominee

Students First

Nominee

Tax Wall Street

Nominee

Taxes 2 High

Nominee

War Veterans

Nominee

Independent

Candidates

Unsuccessful

Declined

General election

Graphical summary

Polling

Results

Results by borough

See also

References

External links