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

|

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* v
* t
* e

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[edit]

### Candidates[edit]

* Ruth Messinger, Manhattan Borough President
* Al Sharpton, Baptist minister, activist, and founder of National Action Network
* Sal Albanese, New York City councilman

#### Withdrew[edit]

* Fernando Ferrer, Bronx Borough President (1987–2001)

#### Declined[edit]

* Alan Hevesi, New York City Comptroller (1994–2001)[1]
* 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 and 2014–16)[2]

## General election[edit]

### Candidates[edit]

* 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.[3] 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."[4]

### Campaign[edit]

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.[5] The results of the Democratic primary were contested in court by Sharpton, who argued that he qualified for a run-off election with Messinger.[6] Sharpton waited until October to endorse Messinger against Giuliani, and the endorsement was perceived by some as tepid.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] All four daily New York newspapers—The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, and Newsday—endorsed Giuliani over Messinger.[10] 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.[11] 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."[11]

### Results[edit]

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.[5] Voter turnout was the lowest in 12 years, with only 38% of registered voters casting ballots.[12] The margin of victory was not quite as large as pre-election polls had predicted;[13] 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.[13]

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."[12]

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."[5]

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%

[14]

### Voter demographics[edit]

The 1997 NYC mayoral election by demographic subgroup[15]

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[edit]

1. ^ Firestone, David (November 26, 1996). "Hevesi Says He Won't Run for Mayor, Citing Family and Desire to Remain Comptroller". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
2. ^ Schneider, Bill (January 3, 1997). "New York's Giuliani Makes Crime His Issue". CNN. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ Bai, Matt (September 9, 2007). "America's Mayor Goes to America". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
5. ^ a b c "AllPolitics - Giuliani Wins With Ease - Nov. 4, 1997". www.cnn.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
6. ^ Nagourney, Adam (September 19, 1997). "RACE FOR CITY HALL: THE OVERVIEW; Messinger Aims for Giuliani, and Sharpton Heads for Court". The New York Times.
7. ^ Nagourney, Adam (October 13, 1997). "Sharpton and Messinger Seal Awkward Political Alliance". The New York Times.
8. ^ "Giuliani Approval, Satisfaction With City Hit New Highs, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Mayor's Lead Over Messinger Nears 2–1" Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, Quinnipiac University Poll, October 29, 1997. Accessed June 24, 2007.
9. ^ Beinart, Peter (November 10, 1997). "THE LAST OF THE LIBERALS". Time - via content.time.com.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ a b 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.
12. ^ a b 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.
13. ^ a b 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.
14. ^ "Our Campaigns - New York City Mayor Race - Nov 04, 1997". www.ourcampaigns.com.
15. ^ "New York City Exit Poll Results -- Nov. 4, 1997 (Mayor's Race)". www.cnn.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.

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