Democrat Bill de Blasio cruised to victory Tuesday night in New York City's mayoral race.
De Blasio, the city's public advocate, defeated Republican Joe Lhota in the race to succeed outgoing NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is completing his third and final term in office.
Since winning the Democratic primary in September, de Blasio has held a wide lead over his Republican rival.
The Associated Press reported on the race earlier Tuesday:
De Blasio, who as the city's elected public advocate acts as an official watchdog, has positioned himself as a clean break with the Bloomberg years, promoting a sweeping liberal agenda that includes a tax increase on the wealthy to pay for universal pre-kindergarten and improved police-community relations.
Those tactics, and a pledge to reach out to New Yorkers who feel left behind by what they believed were Bloomberg's Manhattan-centric policies, have been rewarded in the polls. De Blasio, 52, has been up nearly 40 percentage points in every survey conducted since the general election matchup was set nearly two months ago.
To his supporters, de Blasio symbolizes the city's progressive possibilities He hails from Brooklyn, is married to an African-American woman and is father to two interracial teenagers, one of whom sports an Afro that became a sensation on the campaign trail. But he is also a consummate pragmatist, having worked for both Bill and Hillary Clinton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and was known for closed-door wheeling-and-dealing while serving in the City Council.
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