# 1989 New York City mayoral election

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vte :
The 1989 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7.
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. Dinkins won with 50.42% of the vote to Giuliani's 47.84%.
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. Four years later, in the 1993 election, Dinkins and Giuliani would face each other again in a re-match and Dinkins would narrowly lose to Giuliani in his bid for re-election.
Democrats would not win a mayoral election in New York City again until 2013.

## 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. | Dec. 10, 1988 | 1,204 | 34% | 6% | 29% | 17% |

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | 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

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

## General election
### Debate

1989 New York City mayoral election debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic | Right to Life |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | 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 |

### 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 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 1,125,258 | 100.0% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |