Thompson to Concede to de Blasio in New York

NEW YORK (AP) —
In this combo Democratic Mayoral candidates Bill Thompson, left, is seen in this Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 file photo and Bill De Blasio is seen in this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. (AP Photos)
In this combo Democratic Mayoral candidates Bill Thompson, left, is seen in this Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 file photo and Bill De Blasio is seen in this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. (AP Photos)

Two people familiar with the decision says New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson will concede the Democratic primary race to front-runner Bill de Blasio, averting a potential runoff.

The two people say Thompson will drop of out the race Monday morning and endorse de Blasio. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision wasn’t being announced until an 11 a.m. news conference.

In unofficial returns with 99 percent of precincts reporting, de Blasio had a little more than the 40 percent threshold needed to win outright.

De Blasio is the city’s elected public advocate. Thompson is a former city comptroller. He came surprisingly close to unseating incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2009. Bloomberg is now term-limited.

Thompson had faced some pressure from influential Democrats to bow out and spare the party further division.

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