1989 New York City mayoral election

The 1989 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7.

1989 New York City mayoral election

← 1985 November 7, 1989 1993 →
Registered	3,183,741
Turnout	1,899,845 59.67% (18.48 pp)
Candidate David Dinkins Rudy Giuliani Party Democratic Republican Alliance Liberal Popular vote 917,544 870,464 Percentage 50.42% 47.84%
Borough results State Assembly district results Dinkins:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Giuliani:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Mayor before election Ed Koch Democratic Elected Mayor David Dinkins Democratic

Incumbent Mayor Ed Koch, who had served since 1978, ran for an unprecedented fourth term in office but was defeated in the Democratic Party primary by Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins. Dinkins went on to narrowly defeat U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Rudy Giuliani, the candidate of both the Republican Party and Liberal Party of New York.^[1] 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 landslide victories for Koch, who had not lost a single borough and had received the co-endorsement of the Republican Party in 1981, this election was a closely contested race. Dinkins won majorities in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, while Giuliani carried Queens and won a landslide on Staten Island. At the time, this was the strongest showing for a candidate on the Republican line since 1965 (not counting Koch's 1981 cross-endorsement), and the first since then that a candidate on the Republican line managed 30 percent of the vote.

Four years later, in the 1993 election, Dinkins and Giuliani would face each other again in a re-match and Dinkins would lose to Giuliani in his bid for re-election. Democrats would not win a mayoral election in New York City again until 2013. This was the first of two elections in a row where the incumbent lost re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• David Dinkins, Manhattan Borough President
• Harrison J. Goldin, New York City Comptroller
• Ed Koch, incumbent Mayor since 1978
• 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

Results by borough

Results by State Assembly district

Dinkins:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Koch:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Dinkins	547,901	50.71%
	Democratic	Ed Koch (incumbent)	456,313	42.23%
	Democratic	Richard Ravitch	47,534	4.40%
	Democratic	Harrison J. Goldin	28,809	2.67%
Total votes			1,080,557	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• Ronald Lauder, son of Estée Lauder and former U.S. Ambassador to Austria

Results

Results by State Assembly district

  Giuliani

•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%

  Lauder

•   50%–60%

Republican primary results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rudy Giuliani	77,150	67.02%
	Republican	Ronald Lauder	37,960	32.98%
Total votes			115,110	100.0%

General election

Debates

1989 New York City mayoral election debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic	Right to Life
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					David Dinkins	Rudy Giuliani	Henry F. Hewes
1	Nov. 1, 1989	El Diario La Prensa National Hispanic Council on Aging WADO, WPIX, WXTV	Orlando Garcia	C-SPAN	P	A	P
2	Nov. 5, 1989	WNBC-TV	Gabe Pressman	C-SPAN	P	P	P

Candidates

• Warren L. Baum (Libertarian)
• David Dinkins, Manhattan Borough President (Democratic)
• Lenora Fulani, psychologist, activist and candidate for President of the United States in 1988 (New Alliance)
• Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Republican and Liberal)
• James E. Harris (Socialist Workers)
• Henry F. Hewes, consultant (Right to Life)
• Ronald S. Lauder, son of Estée Lauder and former U.S. Ambassador to Austria (Conservative)

Results

General election results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	David Dinkins	917,544	50.42%	27.6
	Republican	Rudy Giuliani	815,387	44.80%	35.7
	Liberal	Rudy Giuliani	55,077	3.02%	7.1
	Total	Rudy Giuliani	870,464	47.84%	N/A
	Right to Life	Henry F. Hewes	17,460	0.96%	0.3
	Conservative	Ronald S. Lauder	9,271	0.51%	2.5
	New Alliance	Lenora Fulani	1,732	0.10%	0.5
	Socialist Workers	James E. Harris	1,671	0.09%	0.06
	Libertarian	Warren L. Baum	1,118	0.06%	N/A
Total votes			1,819,260	100.0%
	Democratic hold