NYC Election Results 2013: How de Blasio Did It

Bill de Blasio has pulled out a huge win in New York City. How huge? 

He did this by winning basically every demographic group in the city, and every imaginable subset within those demographic groups. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is going out with a 52% approval rate, so the idea that de Blasio represents a wholesale rebuke of Bloomberg doesn't quite hold water. But 70% of voters also expressed an overwhelming desire for a new direction, and this led to the election of the city's first Democratic mayor in 20 years.

Larger reasons for de Blasio's win include a post-Great Recession environment, changing demographics in the city, and a third Bloomberg term that saw the mayor overreach on a number of issues. Whatever the reasons, though, and whether you believe his election was more about a change in policy or a change in tone, it's hard to argue the mayor-elect isn't coming in with a massive mandate.

We'll have more breakdowns and maps as the numbers come in. At just after 10:00 p.m., only 2% of precincts have reported.