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James: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Maresca: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||
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The2013 New York City Public Advocate election was held on November 5, 2013, along with elections for theMayor,Comptroller,Borough Presidents, and members of theNew York City Council. Incumbent Democratic Public AdvocateBill de Blasio, serving his first term, ran forMayor of New York City rather than seek re-election.
The Democratic Party held its primary on September 10, and since no candidate reached 40%, a runoff was held on October 1 between the top two candidates, CouncilwomanLetitia James and State SenatorDaniel Squadron. James won the runoff to become the Democratic nominee.[1][2]
TheRepublican Party did not nominate a candidate. In the general election, James facedGreen Party nominee James Lane andConservative nominee Robert Maresca as well as various minor party candidates.
James won the general election in a landslide.[3]
The runoff betweenLetitia James andDaniel Squadron was characterized as bitter by most of the media outlets that covered it.[5][6][7]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Catherine Guerriero | Letitia James | Reshma Saujani | Daniel Squadron | Sidique Wai | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marist[8] | August 12–14, 2013 | 355 | ± 5.2% | 12% | 16% | 3% | 12% | 2% | 6% | 49% |
| Marist[9] | June 17–21, 2013 | 689 | ± 4% | 16% | 17% | 8% | 4% | — | <1% | 54% |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | |||||||||
| Catherine Guerriero | Letitia James | Reshma Saujani | Daniel Squadron | Sidique Wai | |||||
| 1 | Aug. 15, 2013 | Citizens Committee of New York Citizens Union Gothamist Hispanic Federation New York One New York One Noticias New York City Campaign Finance Board Transportation Alternatives WNYC-FM | Errol Louis | YouTube | P | P | P | P | P |
| 2 | Aug. 25, 2013 | New York City Campaign Finance Board Telemundo Nueva York The Wall Street Journal WNBC | Melissa Russo David Ushery | YouTube | P | P | P | P | N |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Letitia James | Daniel Squadron | |||||
| 1 | Sep. 24, 2013 | Citizens Committee of New York Citizens Union Gothamist Hispanic Federation New York One New York One Noticias New York City Campaign Finance Board Transportation Alternatives WNYC-FM | Brian Lehrer Errol Louis | YouTube | P | P |

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Letitia James | 191,347 | 36.10 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Squadron | 178,151 | 33.61 | |
| Democratic | Reshma Saujani | 76,983 | 14.52 | |
| Democratic | Cathy Guerriero | 69,025 | 13.02 | |
| Democratic | Sidique Wai | 14,409 | 2.72 | |
| Democratic | Write-in | 174 | 0.03 | |
| Total votes | 530,089 | 100.00 | ||

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Letitia James | 119,604 | 59.02 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Squadron | 83,043 | 40.98 | |
| Total votes | 202,647 | 100.00 | ||
No Republican candidate filed to run for the office.
Besides the two main parties, theConservative,Green,Independence andWorking Families parties arequalified New York parties. These parties have automatic ballot access.
The following parties without automatic ballot access succeeded in petitioning onto the ballot:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Letitia James | 761,058 | 77.87% | |
| Working Families | Letitia James | 53,821 | 5.51% | |
| Total | Letitia James | 814,879 | 83.37% | |
| Conservative | Robert Maresca | 119,768 | 12.25% | |
| Green | James Lane | 16,974 | 1.74% | |
| Libertarian | Alex Merced | 10,419 | 1.07% | |
| Socialist Workers | Deborah O. Liatos | 5,114 | 0.52% | |
| War Veterans | Irene Estrada | 4,216 | 0.43% | |
| Students First | Mollina G. Fabricant | 2,391 | 0.24% | |
| Freedom Party of New York | Michael K. Lloyd | 1,799 | 0.18% | |
| Total votes | 975,560 | 100% | ||