NYC Mayoral Election 2013 Results: De Blasio Wins in Landslide Victory

Democrat Bill de Blasio was elected yesterday as the next mayor of New York City in a landslide victory.

Bill de Blasio trumped his opponent, Republican Joseph Lhota, 73 percent to Lhota's 24 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. He will be the city's first Democratic mayor in 20 years. 

Although he won with a large margin of victory, his mayoral future was not always certain. This spring, de Blasio was fourth place in the Democratic primary race, which included disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. 

Weiner led the race until late July, when news surfaced that he engaged in three more online extramarital relationships. Quinn then suffered in the polls due to her ties to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

De Blasio started to gain traction in August when he put out ads starring his mixed-race family, his children in particular, who praised their father's positions on affordable housing and reforming New York's controversial stop-and-frisk policies. 

De Blasio, 52, will now get to tout his liberal agenda, which in addition to opposing stop-and-frisk, includes raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for universal pre-kindergarten, and narrowing the widening gap between the rich and poor in New York City. 

"This election is a very stark contrast between two very different candidates. Mr. Lhota clearly wants to maintain the status quo in the city. I'm calling for fundamental change," de Blasio told reporters Tuesday after voting in Brooklyn.

De Blasio, who was born on May 8, 1961 in New York City, became involved in politics at a young age. He went on to New York University, then earned a masters degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, The New York Times confirms. 

After becoming involved in Latin American politics, he returned to New York and began volunteering for David Dinkins' mayoral campaign. He eventually became a City Hall aide, which is where he met another employee, Chirlane McCray, who later became his wife. They had two children: Chiara and Dante. 

Although many have high hopes for his reformist, activist policies, many are unsure that he will be able to keep his campaign promises. Forty-two percent say yes; 43 percent say no. 

His opponent, Joe Lhota, served in the Giuliani Administration and was recently the head of the Metropolitan Transit Authority during superstorm Sandy. Despite having well spelled out fiscal policies, his similarity to Bloomberg and lack of promoting social change led to his mayoral defeat.