A day after polls showed him holding a double-digit lead, Mayor Michael Bloomberg edged outgoing Comptroller William Thompson to win a third term as mayor Tuesday night in a race that turned out to be closer than many had expected.

With 100 percent of New York City precincts reporting, Bloomberg finished with a 51 percent to 46 percent lead over his Democratic challenger.

“Today voters from every borough, and every background, every neighborhood and every nationality. From every party and every persuasion went to the polls and they chose progress,” Bloomberg declared during his victory speech.

The mayor went on to say the outcome of the election was driven by the issues concerning all New Yorkers, including job creation, public safety and education.

“These are tough times for even our tough town,” Bloomberg continued. “Tonight throughout the nation, the public has been very clear and some incumbents have learned that they are tired of politics as usual. The public wants their leaders from both parties to get things done.”

The surprise returns contradict a Monday Quinnipiac poll which showed the two-term incumbent earning 50 percent of support of likely votes and a 12-percent lead over the Democratic nominee.

During his concession speech, Thompson thanked the dedication of what he says was the work of “one staffer to thousands of volunteers” over the course of the campaign.

“Tonight as our campaign comes to a close, we must not forget why we put in all the long hours. Because the work we started during this campaign doesn’t end tonight. In fact it’s just beginning,” Thompson said. “I’ll continue to work with you to make this city better and better for all New Yorkers.”

While Bloomberg lost to Thompson by a wide margin in the Bronx, and by a smaller margin in Brooklyn, he was carried to victory by wins in Manhattan, Queens and on Staten Island.

Exit polls reported in the New York Times indicate 73 percent of black voters chose Thompson. Bloomberg, on the other hand, found support from two-thirds of white voters. And almost three-quarters of voters with $200,000 in annual income voted to bring Bloomberg back.

Bloomberg’s re-election was made possible last fall when City Council members approved a controversial bill striking down the city’s 15-year-old two-term limit and extending it to three terms. Bloomberg will now join Koch, Robert Wagner and Fiorello La Guardia as the city’s only three-term mayors.

The victory makes Bloomberg the first New York City mayor elected to a third term since Ed Koch was elected for a third time on November 5, 1985.

Bloomberg vowed to bring more change over the next four years.

“If you think you’ve seen progress over the past eight years, I’ve got news for you, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” he said. “Conventional wisdom says that historically third terms haven’t been too successful, but we’ve spend the last eight years defying conventional wisdom.”

Tuesday night’s win was also a far cry from the mayor’s nearly 20 point blowout in 2005, and it comes after the billionaire financed a record campaign.

He was on pace to spend $100 million, which works out to be about $200 per vote.

Source: NY1