NEWS EDITOR

In one of the most up and down election races in recent New York City history, the primary phase is now over. On Sept. 10, hundreds of thousands voters turned out to submit their ballots for their choice candidate in their respective party.  For the Republicans, the overwhelming favorite was Joe Lhota, the former MTA Chairman.

According to NBC New York, Lhota claimed 53 percent of the Republican vote at the time when 97 percent of the precincts reported their results.

His opponent, John Catsimatidis, congratulated Lhota on the victory around 11:15 p.m.

The Democratic race, full of candidates and storylines, took a bit longer to decide. To a win the primary election outright and avoid a run off, a candidate needs to capture at least 40 percent of their party’s vote. Bill de Blasio, the former public advocate was the favorite in the polls and on primary night.  De Blasio received 40 percent of the vote with 97 percent of precincts reporting their votes; but, according to CBS 2, not all of the ballots will be counted on Sept 10. The Board of Elections said that the paper ballots would be taken into consideration Wednesday morning, while the absentee and military ballots would not be counted until Monday. WCBS 880 said that leaves about 30,000 ballots untouched for now.

De Blasio’s campaign received a recent surge in weeks leading up to the primaries. Many voters cited his differences from the previous regime as their reason for backing the former public advocate. De Blasio gave an almost victorious speech to those at his campaign party.

“To the people of New York City, I say thank you. To the people of my beloved home borough of Brooklyn, I say thank you,” he said.

As for Bill Thompson, the current second Democratic candidate in the primary running, he said that he will not concede to de Blasio just yet. With 97 percent reporting so far, Thompson had 26 percent of the vote. Still, Thompson led his supporters in a “three more weeks” chant, hopeful that there will be a runoff.

“But, every voice in New York City counts and we’re going to wait for every voice to be heard, we’re going to wait for every voice to be counted,” he said to supporters.

If there is a runoff between de Blasio and Thompson it will be scheduled for Oct. 1, just about a month before the general election.

Meanwhile, Christine Quinn, City Council Speaker, officially conceded the race around 11:40 p.m., around the time that 97 percent of the precincts had turned in their results. Quinn said that she wanted to congratulate her opponents for victory.

“This was a hard-fought race, we took a lot of knocks, we were up against a lot off odds, but I am proud of the race we all ran,” Quinn said in her concession speech.

Quinn was originally one of the frontrunners in the race until de Blasio’s recent rise to the top.

One of the main concerns the candidates had heading into tonight was voter turnout. The GOP had lower numbers, with Lhota capturing the nomination with just under 30,000 votes. In comparison, Anthony Weiner collected over 31,000 votes, placing him fifth in the Democratic race.

The other main competition of the night came from the battle for city comptroller. Scott Stringer, the Manhattan borough president defeated Eliot Spitzer, the former New York governor. According to The Associated Press, Stringer returned 52 percent while Spitzer collected 48 percent after 94 percent of the precincts had reported.  Even though Spitzer held his concession speech shortly after the results were announced, he promised not to be gone for long.

“[I] will continue in many and varied capacities.… I intend to do so in different ways,” Spitzer said in the Wall Street Journal.

The general elections will take place on Nov. 5.

 ***At the time of publication, 97 percent of the precincts reported with de Blasio ahead at 40 percent. Thompson was in second with 26 percent of the Democratic vote.

Categories: News

Tags: KELLY KULTYS, News