1997 New York City mayoral election

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.

1997 New York City mayoral election

← 1993 November 4, 1997 2001 →

Nominee Rudy Giuliani Ruth Messinger Party Republican Democratic Alliance Liberal Popular vote 783,815 549,335 Percentage 57.7% 40.5%

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

Mayor before election Rudy Giuliani Republican Elected Mayor Rudy Giuliani Republican

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)

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.^[1] 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."^[2]

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.^[3] The results of the Democratic primary were contested in court by Sharpton, who argued that he qualified for a run-off election with Messinger.^[4] Sharpton waited until October to endorse Messinger against Giuliani, and the endorsement was perceived by some as tepid.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7] All four daily New York newspapers—The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, and Newsday—endorsed Giuliani over Messinger.^[8] 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.^[9] 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."^[9]

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.^[3] Voter turnout was the lowest in 12 years, with only 38% of registered voters casting ballots.^[10] The margin of victory was not quite as large as pre-election polls had predicted;^[11] 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.^[11]

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."^[10]

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."^[3]

Candidate	Party	Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Staten Island	Total	%
Rudolph Giuliani	Republican-Liberal	138,718	81,897	173,343	176,751	45,120	615,829	55.2%
		50.9%	43.6%	53.3%	64.6%	78.6%
Ruth Messinger	Democratic	128,478	102,979	145,349	92,194	10,288	479,288	42.9%
		47.1%	54.8%	44.7%	33.7%	17.9%
All others		5,534	2,901	6,259	4,586	1,961	21,241	1.9%
		2.0%	1.5%	1.9%	1.7%	3.4%
T O T A L		272,730	187,777	324,951	273,531	57,369	1,116,358	100%

^[12]

Voter demographics

The 1997 NYC mayoral election by demographic subgroup^[13]
Demographic subgroup	Messinger	Giuliani	% of total vote
Total vote	43	57	100
Ideology
Liberals	55	43	33
Moderates	38	61	42
Conservatives	23	72	23
Party
Democrats	54	45	61
Republicans	6	92	19
Independents/Other	34	65	19
Gender
Men	36	62	45
Women	45	54	55
Race
White	21	76	53
Black	79	20	21
Hispanic	57	43	20
Age
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	26
Family 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	10
Union households
Union	45	52	42
Non-union	37	62	58
Religion
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

References

1. Lynn, Frank (July 21, 1989). "Giuliani Files 2 Challenges To Take Lauder off Ballot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
2. Bai, Matt (September 9, 2007). "America's Mayor Goes to America". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
3. "AllPolitics - Giuliani Wins With Ease - Nov. 4, 1997". www.cnn.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
4. Nagourney, Adam (September 19, 1997). "RACE FOR CITY HALL: THE OVERVIEW; Messinger Aims for Giuliani, and Sharpton Heads for Court". The New York Times.
5. Nagourney, Adam (October 13, 1997). "Sharpton and Messinger Seal Awkward Political Alliance". The New York Times.
6. "Giuliani Approval, Satisfaction With City Hit New Highs, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Mayor's Lead Over Messinger Nears 2–1" 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, Quinnipiac University Poll, October 29, 1997. Accessed June 24, 2007.
7. Beinart, Peter (November 10, 1997). "THE LAST OF THE LIBERALS". Time – via content.time.com.
8. Onishi, Norimitsu (October 27, 1997). "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: THE CAMPAIGNING; Giuliani Goes After Voters In Messinger's Stronghold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
9. Nagourney, Adam (October 30, 1997). "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: THE CANDIDATES; Giuliani Shrugs Off Messinger's Attacks in Debate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
10. Nagourney, Adam (November 5, 1997). "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: THE OVERVIEW; GIULIANI SWEEPS TO SECOND TERM AS MAYOR; WHITMAN HOLDS ON BY A RAZOR-THIN MARGIN". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
11. Firestone, David (November 6, 1997). "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: THE VOTERS; Big Victory, but Gains For Mayor Are Modest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
12. "Our Campaigns - New York City Mayor Race - Nov 04, 1997". www.ourcampaigns.com.
13. "New York City Exit Poll Results -- Nov. 4, 1997 (Mayor's Race)". www.cnn.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.