Thompson Concedes Mayoral Primary to de Blasio

Former city Comptroller Bill Thompson has conceded the  mayoral Democratic primary and thrown his weight behind Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, 1010 Wins reported.

On Sunday, Thompson said he would wait to make a decision until the city’s Board of Elections completed its recanvassing of its machine votes. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, de Blasio had 40.3 percent of the vote, while Thompson was at 26.2 percent, 1010 Wins reported.

The board had started counting more than 78,000 absentee and other paper ballots this morning.

But during a news conference Monday, Thompson said he was dropping out of the race and supporting de Blasio.

“I am proud to stand here today and support Bill de Blasio to be the next mayor of the city of New York,” Thompson said. “Bill de Blasio and I want to move our city forward in the same direction. We share the same fundamental views and values – this is bigger than either one of us.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly helped play a role in brokering a deal between the two campaigns, 1010 Wins reported.

De Blasio will face off against Republican Joe Lhota, who is the former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, during the Nov. 5 general election.