Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term as NYC Mayor

Candidates for the Office of New York City Mayor, incumbent Michael Bloomberg., left, and...

Candidates for the Office of New York City Mayor, incumbent Michael Bloomberg., left, and challenger, Democratic Mayoral candidate William Thompson, shake hands after their televised debate in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Pool, James Estrin)

(AP)

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg won a third term as New York mayor Tuesday in a closer-than-expected race against a Democratic challenger who stoked voter resentment over the way Bloomberg changed term-limits law so he could stay in office.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Bloomberg, the richest man in New York and founder of the financial information company Bloomberg LP, defeated William Thompson Jr. 51 percent to 46 percent.

In the days leading up to the election, polls showed Bloomberg with as much as an 18-point lead, an edge so big that critics accused the mayor of overkill in his strategy of bombarding the city with campaign ads.

His margin of victory was far smaller than the nearly 20-point blowout he pulled off in 2005.

When all the bills are paid, Bloomberg will probably have spent more than $100 million on his campaign, the most expensive self-financed campaign in U.S. history. Thompson, the city's comptroller, relied on donations and matching funds for his mayoral bid, and was on track to have spent about a tenth of Bloomberg's staggering total.

"This campaign was about defying conventional wisdom ... this campaign was about standing strong, standing tall and never backing down in the face of a formidable challenge," Thompson said after conceding defeat.

Thompson ran up huge margins in black and Hispanic neighborhoods, winning by a 3-to-1 margin in some districts.

He beat Bloomberg handily in predominantly black neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and Jamaica in Queens. He won Harlem and East Harlem easily, along with other heavily Hispanic districts in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

By contrast, Bloomberg won easily on Staten Island, which has a much larger white population. He also fared better in Manhattan, particularly on the Upper East Side, where he lives.

The tiny margin could weaken his power and make his third term more difficult at City Hall, where Democrats poised to sweep into citywide offices indicated they would not shy away from disagreeing with the mayor.