New York City mayoral election, 1961

The New York City mayoral election of 1961 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1961, with incumbent Democratic Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. going on to win a decisive re-election victory for a third term in office.

Wagner defeated the Republican nominee, state Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, and the Citizens Party nominee, New York City Comptroller Lawrence E. Gerosa.

Wagner received 51.03% of the vote to Lefkowitz's 34.46%, a Democratic victory margin of 16.57%.

Gerosa finished in third, with 13.26%.

Gerosa, running with the short-lived left-wing Citizens Party, billed himself as the "real Democrat" in the race, and took many liberal votes, finishing relatively strongly for a third party candidate.

Wagner won decisive majorities in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, and won a plurality in Queens. Lefkowitz eked out a narrow 1-point plurality win in Staten Island.

Wagner was also the nominee of the Liberal Party, and additionally ran on the Brotherhood ballot line. Lefkowitz also ran on the Nonpartisan and Civic Action ballot lines, while Gerosa also ran on the Independent ballot line.

After being supported by the Tammany Hall machine in his 1953 and 1957 elections, Wagner broke with Tammany Hall in 1961, defeating the Democratic Party power brokers' chosen candidate, Arthur Levitt, in the Democratic primary and then going on to win a third term in the general election. Wagner's victory thus ultimately signified the decline of the power of political machines in New York City.

Wagner would be sworn in to his third and final term in January 1962.