Bill de Blasio was elected New York City Mayor Tuesday.
The Democrat, who currently serves as the city's public advocate, defeated Republican Joe Lhota, a former deputy mayor to Rudy Giuliani.
Going into Tuesday's election, de Blasio held a wide lead over his Republican rival, with a NBC 4/WSJ poll released Monday showing the Democrat with a 40-point lead.
Reuters reported earlier Tuesday:
De Blasio, the city's public advocate, has campaigned as much against the legacy of departing Mayor Michael Bloomberg as against Lhota, who was a deputy mayor under Rudolph Giuliani and later the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
"This election is a very stark contrast between two very different candidates. Mr. Lhota clearly wants to maintain the status quo in the city. I'm calling for fundamental change," de Blasio said after voting in Brooklyn.
De Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, and daughter, Chiara, also voted. His son, Dante, a high-school sophomore, was there as well.
De Blasio won a hotly contested Democratic primary in September by focusing on the controversial "stop-and-frisk" police tactic endorsed by Bloomberg and by criticizing the billionaire mayor for presiding over "two New Yorks" - one rich, one poor.
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