Michael Bloomberg has defeated Bill Thompson to win his third term as New York’s mayor, according to the Times. The race was called with just 17 percent of precincts reporting and Bloomberg leading Thompson 49.2 percent to 47.7 percent.
According to NBC New York Thompson has conceded.
Bloomberg Wins Third Term as Mayor; Republican Is Elected Virginia Governor [NYT]
Update 10:35: NBC reverses its call for Bloomberg!
Update 11:00: NBC New York has removed its reference to Thompson conceding. Meanwhile, Rachel Maddow says NBC has re-called the race for Bloomberg.
Update 12:40: So Bloomberg’s election margin sure was small, huh? A guy who outspent his opponent by more than ten times should have won by a landslide. At least that’s what everyone is saying tonight.
The Daily News ran into a less-than-thrilled Bloomberg campaign adviser, who said “That’s hardly a mandate,” of Bloomberg’s 50 percent to 46 percent victory.
Ben Smith at Politico says Bloomberg’s small margin spells two things:
The other question getting kicked around in the aftermath of Thompson’s closer-than-expected finish — what if President Obama had really campaigned for him? We’ll never know.
