Voters in New York City are voting on Tuesday to choose a new mayor.<br /><br />The Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio is the overwhelming favourite.<br /><br />The city’s public advocate is widely seen as one of the most liberal mayoral candidates.<br /><br />His Republican challenger is Joe Lhota, a former senior official in the mayoral offices of Michael Bloomberg and his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani.<br /><br />Lhota is credited with turning around the fortunes of the city’s public transportation system after huge floods last year, but he is well behind in the polls.<br /><br />As it is part of the first major round of elections since Barack Obama won a second presidential term a year ago, many see the contest as an early test of the Republican and Democratic Parties’ popularity ahead of next year’s crucial congressional elections.<br /><br />Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will also elect governors on Tuesday.<br /><br />The winner will succeed three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican who turned independent in 2007.
