2009 New York City mayoral election
| Company type | Election |
|---|---|
| Industry | Politics |
| Founded | November 3, 2009 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
The 2009 Mayor of New York City election took place on November 3. The sitting mayor, Michael Bloomberg, who had departed from the Republican Party in 2008 to become an independent, was reelected running on both the Republican and Independence Party of New York tickets, securing 50.7% of the total votes. He defeated Bill Thompson, the outgoing New York City Comptroller and Democratic candidate endorsed by the Working Families Party, who garnered 46.3%. Thompson had won the Democratic primary in September with a commanding 71% of the vote.
This election continued a streak of five straight mayoral wins by Republican candidates in New York City, despite the city's predominantly Democratic leanings in state and federal elections. Alongside Bloomberg and Thompson, six minor party candidates also contested; among them, Stephen Christopher of the Conservative Party of New York received 1.6%, outpacing all other minor contenders combined. Voter participation was notably low, with fewer than 1.2 million ballots cast in November, and Bloomberg’s victory came with fewer votes than any successful mayor since women's suffrage was established in 1917. It is important to note that the Democrats regained control of Brooklyn during this election.
Before the election, the New York City Council extended the mayoral term limits from two to three terms, allowing Bloomberg and others to run for a third term. Attempts to overturn this extension—whether through referendum, federal court challenges, or state legislative action—were unsuccessful.
As of , this election remains the last time a candidate on the Republican ballot line won in Manhattan or Queens and exceeded 30% of the vote—an occurrence only seen five times since 1969, excluding Ed Koch’s bipartisan endorsement in 1981.
Background
Since Greater New York’s establishment in 1897, mayors have been chosen by popular vote. From 1897 to 2005, Democrats won 19 out of 31 mayoral elections, Republicans claimed eight victories, and four were secured by other parties. The most recent official Democratic victor was David Dinkins in 1989; meanwhile, John V. Lindsay was the last candidate outside the Democratic and Republican parties to win, capturing office in 1969 on the Liberal Party ticket.
Michael Bloomberg began his political career as a Democrat but was elected mayor as a Republican in both 2001 and 2005, succeeding Rudy Giuliani, who served two terms after elections in 1993 and 1997 as a Republican. In 2008, Bloomberg left the Republican Party to become an independent. That same year, the New York City Council voted to extend term limits from two terms to three, permitting Bloomberg to seek reelection in 2009. Legal challenges against this change were unsuccessful, and efforts to override it through state legislation did not succeed.
Bill Thompson emerged as Bloomberg’s primary challenger after choosing to run for mayor instead of pursuing a third term as New York City Comptroller; he secured the Democratic nomination.
Nominee
- Michael Bloomberg, incumbent mayor since 2002 (Independent)
Withdrew
- Bruce Blakeman, attorney and member of the Port Authority board (endorsed Bloomberg)
Declined
- Richard Parsons, Citigroup chairman (endorsed Bloomberg)
Results
Although Bloomberg had officially changed his party registration to unaffiliated, he faced no opposition for the Republican nomination during the primary.
Candidates
- Tony Avella, member of the New York City Council representing Queens
- Roland Rogers
- Bill Thompson, serving as NYC Comptroller since 2002 (endorsed by Democratic and Working Families parties)
- Jimmy McMillan, Rent Is Too Damn High Party nominee, received 23 write-in votes
Withdrawn
- Anthony Weiner, U.S. Representative (withdrew May 28, 2009, subsequently endorsed Thompson)
Campaign
The initial televised debate between Thompson and Avella occurred on August 26 at the New York Public Library, where both candidates primarily directed criticism toward Bloomberg. Thompson highlighted the necessity for new leadership after eight years under a Republican mayor perceived as favoring developers and affluent interests, while Avella denounced Bloomberg’s attempt to override term limits as presumptuous. A follow-up debate was held on September 9.
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Tony Avella | Bill Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: Template:Colors Participant Template:Colors Absent Template:Colors Not invited Template:Colors Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| 1 | Aug. 26, 2009 | Citizens Union, NY1, New York Daily News, NYC Campaign Finance Board, Time Warner Cable, WNYC-FM | Dominic Carter | YouTube | P | P |
| 2 | Sep. 9, 2009 | 1010 WINS, League of Women Voters of NYC, NYC Campaign Finance Board, Univision, WABC-TV | Bill Ritter | YouTube | P | P |
Results
| 2009 Democratic primary | Manhattan | The Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total | % |
| Bill Thompson | 70,881 | 31,950 | 75,519 | 49,063 | 7,484 | 234,897 | 71.0% |
| 73.7%, 73.5%, 73.9%, 63.2%, 67.0% | |||||||
| Tony Avella | 18,213 | 7,754 | 17,945 | 22,903 | 2,959 | 69,774 | 21.1% |
| 18.9%, 17.8%, 17.6%, 29.5%, 26.5% | |||||||
| Roland Rogers | 6,975 | 3,751 | 8,612 | 5,553 | 700 | 25,591 | 7.7% |
| 7.3%, 8.6%, 8.4%, 7.2%, 6.3% | |||||||
| all write-in votes | 127 | 10 | 153 | 81 | 26 | 397 | 0.1% |
| 0.1%, 0.02%, 0.1%, 0.1%, 0.2% | |||||||
| T O T A L | 96,196 | 43,465 | 102,229 | 77,600 | 11,169 | 330,659 |
Approximately 184 of the total 397 write-in ballots were different versions of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name.
Candidates
- Michael Bloomberg, serving as mayor since 2002 (Independence/Jobs & Education and Republican)
- Stephen Christopher, pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Park Slope
- Joseph Dobrian, journalist and talk show host (Libertarian)
- Tyrrell Eiland, architect (New Voice)
- Dan Fein, candidate for Comptroller in 2005 (Socialist Workers)
- John M. Finan, entrepreneur and 2008 Libertarian presidential contender (Independent)
- Jimmy McMillan, military veteran and 2005 mayoral contender (Rent is 2 Damn High)
- Jonny Porkpie, burlesque artist (Independent)
- Billy Talen, clergyman (Green)
- Bill Thompson, New York City Comptroller since 2002 (Democratic and Working Families)
- Frances Villar, student activist at Lehman College (Socialism and Liberation)
Withdrawn
- Robert Burck, street performer known as the Naked Cowboy (withdrew September 2009)
Debates
| No. | Date | Organizer | Moderator | Link | Independent | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legend: Template:Colors Participant Template:Colors Absent Template:Colors Not invited Template:Colors Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Michael Bloomberg | Bill Thompson | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 13, 2009 | Citizens Union, New York One New York One Noticias New York Daily News New York City Campaign Finance Board WNYC-FM |
Dominic Carter | YouTube | P | P |
| 2 | Oct. 27, 2009 | 1010 WINS League of Women Voters of New York City New York City Campaign Finance Board Univision, and WABC-TV |
Bill Ritter | YouTube | P | P |
Endorsements
During the campaign's closing weeks, Bloomberg was granted a strongly supportive endorsement by the New York Times, which commended his stewardship of city governance while acknowledging Thompson as a "worthy opponent". Most regional newspapers had already backed Bloomberg earlier in the race, though some did so with caution, mirroring concerns expressed by The New Yorker. The publication drew a comparison between Bloomberg and Marcus Licinius Crassus, stating:
Post-primary contest
| Polling Organization | Date Conducted | Bloomberg (Ind.-R-Indep) |
Thompson (D-Working Families) | Christopher (Conservative) |
| November 3 Election Results | November 24, 2009 | 50.7% | 46.3% | 1.6% |
| SurveyUSA | October 30, 2009 | 53% | 42% | |
| Marist Poll | October 30, 2009 | 53% | 38% | |
| Quinnipiac University Polling Institute | October 26, 2009 | 53% | 35% | 3% |
| SurveyUSA | October 19, 2009 | 53% | 41% | |
| SurveyUSA | October 12, 2009 | 55% | 38% |
Bloomberg versus Avella
| Polling Source | Date of Poll | Bloomberg (Independent) | Avella (Democrat) |
| Quinnipiac University Polling Institute | July 21, 2009 | 51% | 28% |
| Marist Poll | June 29, 2009 | 53% | 29% |
| Quinnipiac University Polling Institute | June 9, 2009 | 57% | 27% |
| Marist Poll | May 5, 2009 | 52% | 27% |
Bloomberg's approval ratings
| Polling Source | Date Conducted | Approval Percentage | Disapproval Percentage |
| Quinnipiac University Polling Institute | July 21, 2009 | 63% | 29% |
| Quinnipiac University Polling Institute | July 9, 2009 | 66% | 27% |
| Marist Poll | June 29, 2009 | 58% | 40% |
| Polling Source | Date Conducted | Support for Bloomberg's Re-election | Preference for New Mayor |
| Marist Poll | 'July 8, 2009' | '44%' | 51% |
Results
| 2009 General Election | Party | Manhattan | The Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total | Percentage |
| Candidate | Party | Manhattan | Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=2 |Michael R. Bloomberg | Republican | 102,903 | 42,066 | 117,706 | 126,569 | 46,149 | 435,393 | 37.7% |
| Independence/Jobs & Education | 56,934 | 11,730 | 36,033 | 36,364 | 9,012 | 150,073 | 13.0% | |
| Combined Bloomberg votes | 585,466 | 50.7% | ||||||
| rowspan=2 |Bill Thompson | Democratic | 110,975 | 86,899 | 163,230 | 122,935 | 22,956 | 506,995 | 43.9% |
| Working Families | 7,676 | 1,946 | 12,461 | 4,711 | 1,080 | 27,874 | 2.4% | |
| Combined Thompson votes | 534,869 | 46.3% | ||||||
| Conservative Party | 2,217 | 1,480 | 5,690 | 5,267 | 3,359 | 18,013 | 1.6% | |
| Green Party | 3,083 | 434 | 3,338 | 1,680 | 367 | 8,902 | 0.8% | |
| Rent Is Too Damn High Party | 823 | 217 | 764 | 404 | 124 | 2,332 | 0.2% | |
| Socialism & Liberation | 674 | 253 | 577 | 420 | 72 | 1,996 | 0.2% | |
| Libertarian | 556 | 104 | 413 | 388 | 155 | 1,616 | 0.1% | |
| Socialist Workers | 493 | 120 | 376 | 263 | 59 | 1,311 | 0.1% | |
| Write-in votes † | 297 | 0.03% | ||||||
| Total votes cast | 1,154,802 | 100.00% | ||||||
| Category | Manhattan | Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncounted ballots | 5,172 | 3,659 | 6,645 | 6,254 | 1,525 | 23,255 |
| Ballots submitted total | 291,606 | 148,938 | 347,310 | 305,315 | 84,888 | 1,178,057 |
† Significant write-in contenders included City Councilman Tony Avella (13 votes) and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (11 votes).
See also
- 2009 New York City Public Advocate election
- 2009 New York City Comptroller election
- 2013 New York City mayoral election
- 2005 New York City mayoral election
- 2001 New York City mayoral election
- New York City mayoral elections
External links
- 2009 New York City Mayor General Election: William Thompson (D) vs Mayor Michael Bloomberg (i) – compiled polling data from Pollster.com