Mike Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term As Mayor

Reuters.com:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who engineered a change in the city's term-limits law so he could run again and set a campaign financing record, narrowly won a third term on Tuesday, local media declared.

Bloomberg, who ran as an independent, defeated City Comptroller Bill Thompson, a Democrat, according to The New York Times, the Daily News and NY1 television.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, Bloomberg was ahead 51 to 46 percent.

His margin was far smaller than expected, given polls that showed him as recently as Monday with a double-digit lead and expectations of a large, lopsided victory.

Bloomberg spent more of his own money in pursuit of public office than any other individual in U.S. history, and he vastly outspent his challenger, laying out $13 for every $1 spent by Thompson.

Here in NYC everyone pretty much knew Bloomberg was going to win. But yeah, considering that Bill Thompson came into this election as a virtual unknown, didn't offer much of a platform (besides relentlessly pointing out how Mayor Mike "bullied" his way to revising the city's term-limits law) and had hardly any backing from any prominent Dems (including the White House and Bill Clinton who made overtures that he'd come out and back Thompson, but ended up flaking out), Thompson does deserves kudos for making Bloomberg sweat a little bit.