1981 New York City Mayoral Election

1981 New York City mayoral election

← 1977 November 3, 1981 1985 →

Candidate Ed Koch Frank J. Barbaro Party Democratic Unity Alliance Republican Popular vote 912,622 162,719 Percentage 74.6% 13.3%

Borough results Koch:      60–70%      70–80%

Mayor before election Ed Koch Democratic Elected Mayor Ed Koch Democratic

Koch won both the Democratic and Republican nominations and appeared on the ballot with both of their lines. He only faced opposition from third parties in the election.

Koch received an overwhelming 74.64% of the vote citywide. Koch also swept all five boroughs by landslide margins, breaking 60% of the vote in Manhattan and breaking 70% of the vote in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Koch's closest competitor was the short-lived New York Unity Party nominee Frank J. Barbaro, who received 13.31%. Finishing in a distant third and fourth were the Conservative Party nominee, John A. Esposito, who received 4.92%, and Liberal Party nominee, Mary T. Codd, who received 3.41%.

Candidates

• Frank J. Barbaro, Assemblyman from Bensonhurst
• Melvin Klenetsky
• Ed Koch, incumbent mayor

Koch won the Democratic Primary with 347,351 votes (59.8%), defeating Barbaro who had 209,369 votes (36.0%) and Melvin Klenetsky who had 24,352 votes (4.2%).

Candidates

• John Esposito
• Ed Koch, incumbent Democratic mayor

Koch also won the Republican Primary, defeating Esposito by 44,724 to 22,354.

Candidates

• Frank J. Barbaro, Assemblyman from Bensonhurst (Unity)
• Mary Codd (Liberal)
• Jeronimo Dominguez, Roman Catholic activist, physician, and candidate for Bronx Borough President in 1979 (Right to Life)
• John Esposito (Conservative)
• Judith Jones (Libertarian)
• Ed Koch, incumbent Mayor (Democratic–Republican)
• Wells Todd (Socialist Workers)

Results

Koch had 738,288 Democratic votes and 174,334 Republican votes. Others = 45,485. Jeronimo Dominguez – Right to Life – 32,790 2.7%; Judith Jones – Libertarian – 6,902 0.6%; Wells Todd – Socialist Workers – 5,793 0.5%