1989 New York City mayoral election

The New York City mayoral election of 1989 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1989, with Democratic candidate, Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, narrowly defeating U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rudy Giuliani, the Republican nominee.[1] They also faced several third party candidates. Dinkins replaced outgoing Democratic incumbent mayor Ed Koch; Dinkins had defeated Koch in the Democratic primary.

1989 New York City mayoral election

November 7, 1989

Candidate David Dinkins Rudy Giuliani Party Democratic Republican Alliance - Liberal Popular vote 917,544 870,464 Percentage 50.42% 47.84%

Borough results Dinkins:      50–60%      60–70% Giuliani:      50–60%      70–80%

Mayor before election Ed Koch Democratic Elected Mayor David Dinkins Democratic

Dinkins won with 50.42% of the vote to Giuliani's 47.84%.[2]

Whereas the two preceding mayoral elections of the 1980s had been Democratic landslide victories, with all five boroughs voting to re-elect incumbent Ed Koch, the 1989 election was a closely contested race that finished with a narrow 2.58% margin of victory for David Dinkins. Dinkins won majorities in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, while Giuliani carried Queens and Staten Island, the latter by a landslide margin. Four years later, in the 1993 election, Dinkins and Giuliani would face each other again in a re-match and Dinkins would narrowly lose to Giuliani in his bid for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• David Dinkins, Manhattan Borough President
• Harrison J. Goldin, New York City Comptroller
• Ed Koch, incumbent Mayor
• Richard Ravitch, former Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Declined

• Andrew Stein, President of the New York City Council

Polling

Poll source	Date(s)	Sample size	Dinkins	Goldin	Koch	Stein
Johnson/Singer Inc.[3]	Dec. 10, 1988	1,204	34%	6%	29%	17%

Results

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
							1,080,557

Republican primary

Results

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

General election

Results

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.

References

1. Roberts, Sam. "THE 1989 ELECTIONS: THE NEW YORK VOTE; Almost Lost at the Wire". nytimes.com. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
2. "New York City Mayoral Election 1989". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
3. Anekwe, Simon (10 Dec 1988). "Poll shows Dinkins can unseat Mayor Ed Koch". The New York Times. p. 1.