Report: Bill Thompson to drop out of NYC mayoral race

Bill Thompson is reportedly abandoning his bid to become mayor of New York City and throwing his support behind Bill de Blasio, the city's public advocate who has made the police's "stop and frisk" policy and wealth inequality central issues of his campaign.

Thompson, 60, was to make an announcement at 11:00 a.m. ET on the steps of City Hall, his campaign team said, as multiple news outlets reported he would be dropping out.

Thompson's announcement came as the city prepared to count nearly 80,000 paper ballots to determine whether de Blasio had won 40 percent of the Democratic primary vote, which would be necessary to avoid a runoff with Thompson, the second place finisher. But The New York Post reported that Thompson is now convinced that de Blasio did win the 40 percent required. With 99 percent of votes counted, de Blasio led Thompson 40.3 percent to 26.2 percent.

De Blasio will now face off against former MTA chief and former Rudy Giuliani aide Joe Lhota, who won the Republican primary last week. Thompson's decision to bow out allows Democrats to consolidate support around their candidate before the Nov. 5 election.

De Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo planned to join Thompson at City Hall for the announcement, according to the Post.

http://news.yahoo.com/report--bill-thompson-to-drop-out-of-nyc-mayoral-race-143116150.html