The richest man in NYC , Michael Bloomberg won a third term as the Mayor of New York City on Tuesday. The billionaire had defeated his democratic opponent William Thompson 51 percent to 46 percent. Because Bloomberg was a man of great wealth and power, his campaign strategy of bombarding the people with campaign ads have worked successfully. The week before the election polls showed Bloomberg ahead by eighteen points, convincing critics the election was already won. The lead was nothing in comparison to Bloomberg’s victory in 2005 who pulled off a twenty point win.
It is estimated Bloomberg spent around $100 million on his campaign. Because the costs and funds of running as mayor are not federally funded, the money had come from his own pocket. This makes the billionaire’s campaign the most expensive self-financed campaign in U.S History. His opponent Thompson had used around a tenth of his cost. Thompson was favored in many black and Hispanic neighborhoods even winning by a 3 to 1 margin in some areas. Though Bloomberg did have an estimated $17.5 billion fortune and high approval ratings, because the condition of the Wall Street development, combined with his re-election, situations did not seem positive.
This story seems to further support the common political stereotype of whoever has the most money wins the election. Even with the acknowledgement of Bloomberg’s plead for longer terms in order to serve, he won. It is not surprising Thompson was in favor around the Black and Hispanic areas. The evidence of voting shows either they did not agree with his political ideas or just didn’t agree with, “the man”. Being able to fund a $100 million may seem virtually impossible for the majority of people, but for Bloomberg $100 million out of his 17.5 billion would seem very non influential to terms of his finances.
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