The New York City mayoral election of 1985 occurred on Tuesday, November 5, 1985, with Democratic incumbent Mayor Ed Koch being re-elected to a third term by a landslide margin.
Koch received an overwhelming 78.02% of the vote citywide. Koch also swept all five boroughs by landslide margins, breaking 70% of the vote in Manhattan and Queens and breaking 80% of the vote in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Koch's closest competitor was the Liberal Party nominee, New York City Council President Carol Bellamy, who received 10.20% of the vote. Finishing in a distant third was the Republican nominee, Diane McGrath, who received 9.14% of the vote. Koch was sworn into his third and final term in January 1986.
To date, this is the last time a Democrat won Staten Island in a mayoral election, and the last time any mayoral candidate carried all five boroughs.
Al Vann and Herman Badillo tried to unite the Black and Puerto Rican communities but were thwarted by the Harlem Gang of Four. In a move that shocked Vann, the so-called âÂÂGang of Fourâ from HarlemâÂÂCharles Rangel, David Dinkins, Basil Paterson and Percy SuttonâÂÂbroke ranks and put forth their own candidate for mayor, Harlem Assemblyman Herman âÂÂDennyâ Farrell, a dark horse if ever there was one. They argued that a black group like the Coalition for a Just New York should support a black candidate, not a Puerto Rican. Badillo bitterly withdrew from consideration. Farrell lost badly in the primary."