Elections today: How mayor races stack up

If there’s a common thread to the mayor races in major cities across the US, it’s that incumbents are facing more difficult races than usual. Most are spending heavily to hold their ground, setting spending records in Boston and New York.

Still, pollsters across the country are reporting high numbers of undecided voters, and turnout is expected to be low, typical of local races in off-election years.

New York

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to be successful in his bid for a third term, but challenger Bill Thompson – the city’s first African-American comptroller – isn’t going too quietly. A new poll of likely voters released Monday by Quinnipiac University found Mr. Thompson had closed his deficit by six percentage points from the previous week prior.

Still, polls show 50 percent of likely voters say they'll vote for Mr. Bloomberg, compared with Mr. Thompson’s 38 percent. Ten percent of voters were undecided.

Bloomberg has spent an estimated $100 million from his own pocket, according to the New York Times – a record in personal campaign spending. By contrast, Thompson had only spent about $6 million.

Boston

Seeking an unprecedented fifth term, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is operating a well-oiled campaign machine. Still, he’s facing some tough competition from City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who has joined forces with his closest rival coming out of September’s primary, Sam Yoon.

Mr. Menino has spent the most money ever in a Boston mayoral race – approximately $2 million at last count to Flaherty’s $1.3 million.

Like Bloomberg, Menino maintains a solid lead – and a 60 percent approval rating – but his numbers have been slipping in recent weeks. A poll by the University of New Hampshire's Survey Center in mid-October had Menino with 52 percent of registered voters, compared with Flaherty’s 32 percent. In May, Menino lead Flaherty 61 to 23 percent.

Houston

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