New York City mayoral election, 1961

New York City mayoral election, 1961

November 7, 1961

Candidate Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Louis J. Lefkowitz Lawrence E. Gerosa Party Democratic Republican Citizens Alliance Liberal Nonpartisan Independent Popular vote 1,237,423 835,691 321,604 Percentage 51.03% 34.46% 13.26%

300px Results by Borough   Wagner—50-60%   Wagner—40-50%   Lefkowitz—40-50%

Mayor before election Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Democratic Elected Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Democratic

The New York City mayoral election of 1961 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1961, with incumbent Democratic Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. going on to win a decisive re-election victory for a third term in office.

Wagner defeated the Republican nominee, state Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, and the Citizens Party nominee, New York City Comptroller Lawrence E. Gerosa.

Wagner received 51.03% of the vote to Lefkowitz's 34.46%, a Democratic victory margin of 16.57%.

Gerosa finished in third, with 13.26%.

Gerosa, running with the short-lived left-wing Citizens Party, billed himself as the "real Democrat" in the race, and took many liberal votes, finishing relatively strongly for a third party candidate.

Wagner won decisive majorities in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, and won a plurality in Queens. Lefkowitz eked out a narrow 1-point plurality win in Staten Island.

Wagner was also the nominee of the Liberal Party, and additionally ran on the Brotherhood ballot line. Lefkowitz also ran on the Nonpartisan and Civic Action ballot lines, while Gerosa also ran on the Independent ballot line.

After being supported by the Tammany Hall machine in his 1953 and 1957 elections, Wagner broke with Tammany Hall in 1961, defeating the Democratic Party power brokers' chosen candidate, Arthur Levitt, in the Democratic primary and then going on to win a third term in the general election. Wagner's victory thus ultimately signified the decline of the power of political machines in New York City.

Wagner would be sworn in to his third and final term in January 1962.

Results

1961 General Election	party	Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Richmond [Staten Is.]	Total	%
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.	Democratic - Liberal - Brotherhood	265,015	255,528	396,539	290,194	30,145	1,237,421	51.03%
		55.6%	55.8%	52.7%	45.8%	41.0%
Louis Lefkowitz	Republican - Nonpartisan - Civic Action	174,471	134,964	251,258	243,836	31,162	835,691	34.46%
		36.6%	29.5%	33.4%	38.5%	42.3%
Lawrence E. Gerosa	Citizens Party - Independent	36,893	67,213	105,232	99,987	12,279	321,604	13.26%
		7.7%	14.7%	14.0%	15.8%	16.7%
subtotal		476,379	457,705	753,029	634,017	73,586	2,394,716	98.75%
others							30,269	1.25%
T O T A L							2,424,985

Other vote was: Vito Battista - United Taxpayers Party - 19,960; Richard Garza - Socialist Workers - 7,037; Eric Haas - Socialist Labor - 3,272

1961 Democratic primary	Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Richmond [Staten Is.]	Total	%
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.	122,607	78,626	136,440	102,845	15,498	456,016	60.9%
	65%	62%	57%	62%	60%
Arthur Levitt	66,917	47,885	103,296	64,157	10,471	292,726	39.1%
	35%	38%	43%	38%	40%
subtotal (for Wagner and Levitt only)	189,524	126,511	239,736	167,002	25,969	748,742	[100%]