The New York City mayoral election of 1997 occurred on Tuesday November 4, 1997, with incumbent Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani soundly defeating Democratic Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger and several third-party candidates. This was the first time Brooklyn voted for a Republican since 1941.
Democratic primary Candidates Ruth Messinger, Manhattan Borough President Al Sharpton, Baptist minister, activist, and founder of National Action Network Sal Albanese, New York City councilman
Withdrew Fernando Ferrer, Bronx Borough President (1987–2001) (endorsed Messinger)
Declined David Dinkins, former New York City mayor (1990–1993) and Manhattan Borough President (1986–1989) Alan Hevesi, New York City Comptroller (1994–2001) Carl McCall, New York State Comptroller (1993–2002) Mark Green, New York City Public Advocate Peter Vallone Sr., New York City Council Bill Bratton, former New York City Police Commissioner (1994–96, 2014–16)
Campaign The primary campaign was largely uneventful until April, due to former mayor David Dinkins opting out of a potential third rematch against Rudy Giuliani. Messinger, the front-runner, ignored her opponents in favor of attacking Giuliani.
Sharpton, for his part, ran a "street-corner, subway-stop campaign that raised little money, aired no television commercials and hired no consultants." Instead, he relied on his high name recognition among New Yorkers from his organization on behalf of Tawana Brawley, Yusef Hawkins, and the Central Park Five and his prior runs for United States Senate in 1992 and 1994.
Debates + 1997 New York City mayoral election democratic primary debate Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Democratic Democratic DemocraticKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Sal Albanese Ruth Messinger Al Sharpton Eric Ruano-Melendez1 Aug. 19, 1997 El Diario La PrensaNew York OneNew York City Campaign Finance BoardSt. Francis CollegeWNYC-FM Lewis Dodley YouTube
+ 1997 New York City mayoral election democratic primary run-off debate Date Host Moderator Link Democratic DemocraticKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Ruth Messinger Al Sharpton1 Sep. 15, 1997 New York OneNew York City Campaign Finance BoardSt. Francis CollegeWNYC-FM Roma Torre YouTube
Results Initial results indicated that Messinger had received 39 percent of the vote, thereby triggering a run-off against Al Sharpton, the runner-up. The run-off was scheduled for September 23. Observers initially blamed Messinger's "bland and often bumbling primary campaign" for the close results.
However, absentee ballots gave Messinger 40.159 percent of the vote, 658 votes more than necessary to win the nomination outright.
After the Board of Elections cancelled the run-off, Sharpton filed suit, charging "such substantial fraud and irregularities in the conduct of the primary election ... that it is impossible to render a determination as to who was rightfully nominated." Sharpton claimed, among other things, that non-Democrats were allowed to vote, that more votes were counted in some districts than there were voters, that some registered voters were wrongly turned away from polling locations, and that some voting machine were broken.
Though she agreed that the vote-counting process "took too long", Messinger claimed victory on the basis of the Board of Elections decision.
General election Candidates Rudy Giuliani, incumbent mayor of New York City (Republican, Liberal) Ruth Messinger, Manhattan Borough President (Democratic)
In the general election, Giuliani had the Republican and Liberal ballot lines, but not the Conservative line. Giuliani had run on the same two ballot lines in his unsuccessful 1989 mayoral campaign and in his winning campaign in 1993. Conservative Party leaders were unhappy with Giuliani on ideological grounds, citing the Liberal Party's endorsement statement that Giuliani "agreed with the Liberal Party's views on affirmative action, gun control, school prayer and tuition tax credits."
Campaign Giuliani's opponent in 1997 was Democratic Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, who had beaten Al Sharpton in the Democratic primary on September 9, 1997. The results of the Democratic primary were contested in court by Sharpton, who argued that he qualified for a run-off election with Messinger. Sharpton waited until October to endorse Messinger against Giuliani, and the endorsement was perceived by some as tepid.
Giuliani ran an aggressive campaign, parlaying his image as a tough leader who had cleaned up the city. Giuliani's popularity was at its highest point to date, with a late October 1997 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll showing him as having a 68% approval rating; 70% of New Yorkers were satisfied with life in the city and 64% said things were better in the city compared to four years previously."Giuliani Approval, Satisfaction With City Hit New Highs, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Mayor's Lead Over Messinger Nears 2–1" , Quinnipiac University Poll, October 29, 1997. Accessed June 24, 2007.
Throughout the campaign, Giuliani was well ahead in the polls and had a strong fundraising advantage over Messinger. On her part, Messinger lost the support of several usually Democratic constituencies, including gay organizations and large labor unions. All four daily New York newspapers—The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, and Newsday—endorsed Giuliani over Messinger. Two televised debates were held, but Messinger was unable to get traction in highlighting that Giuliani was interested in higher office and might not serve out a full second term. Messinger claimed that the real mayor was not in evidence during the debates: "Let me point out that we're certainly seeing the nice Rudy Giuliani tonight."
Debate + 1997 New York City mayoral election debate Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic Socialist WorkersKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Rudy Giuliani Ruth Messinger Olga Rodriguez1 Oct. 9, 1997 El Diario La PrensaNew York OneNew York Urban LeagueNew York City Campaign Finance BoardWNYC-FM Dennis Walcott YouTube
Results In the end, Giuliani won 58% of the vote to Messinger's 41%, becoming the first Republican to win a second term as Mayor of New York City since Fiorello H. LaGuardia in 1941. Voter turnout was the lowest in 12 years, with only 38% of registered voters casting ballots. The margin of victory was not quite as large as pre-election polls had predicted; analysis of the vote showed that Giuliani made modest gains amongst African-American and Hispanic voters while maintaining his solid base of white, Asian and Jewish voters from 1993.
In his acceptance speech, Giuliani acknowledged the image of divisiveness he had acquired during his first term and vowed to correct it: "Whether you voted for me or against me, whether you voted or didn't vote, I'm your Mayor, this is your administration. We have to do a better job of serving all of you. We have to reach out to all of you. And if we haven't, I apologize. I'm sorry and it is my personal commitment that we will try, endlessly and tirelessly, to bring all of you into the kind of success and optimism we have in this room."
In her concession speech, Messinger said, "Tonight, we lost a battle but the war goes on ... Our schools still don't work ... and they are still worth fighting for. We gave it everything we had."
CandidatePartyManhattanThe BronxBrooklynQueens Staten IslandTotal%Rudolph GiulianiRepublican-Liberal138,71881,897173,343 176,75145,120615,82955.2%50.9%43.6%53.3%64.6% 78.6%Ruth MessingerDemocratic 128,478102,979 145,349 92,194 10,288479,28842.9%47.1%54.8% 44.7% 33.7% 17.9%All others5,534 2,9016,259 4,5861,96121,2411.9%2.0%1.5%1.9%1.7%3.4%272,730 187,777 324,951 273,531 57,3691,116,358100%
Voter demographics The 1997 NYC mayoral election by demographic subgroup Demographic subgroupMessingerGiuliani % oftotal vote Total vote 43 57 100Ideology Liberals 55 43 33 Moderates 38 61 42 Conservatives 23 72 23Party Democrats 54 45 61 Republicans 6 92 19 Independents/Other 34 65 19Gender Men 36 62 45 Women 45 54 55Race White 21 76 53 Black 79 20 21 Hispanic 57 43 20Age 18–29 years old 40 59 15 30–44 years old 47 50 33 45–59 years old 42 56 26 60 and older 32 67 26Family income Under $15,000 56 42 16 $15,000–30,000 47 50 21 $30,000–50,000 42 57 24 $50,000–75,000 31 67 20 $75,000–100,000 33 61 9 Over $100,000 28 71 10Union households Union 45 52 42 Non-union 37 62 58Religion Protestant 55 43 13 Catholic 32 66 41 Other Christian 60 37 10 Jewish 27 72 23 Other 64 34 7 None 56 42 6
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