| Election Name: | 1981 New York City mayoral election |
| Country: | New York City |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1977 New York City mayoral election |
| Previous Year: | 1977 |
| Next Election: | 1985 New York City mayoral election |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
| Election Date: | November 3, 1981 |
| Image1: | Ed Koch 1978.jpg |
| Candidate1: | Ed Koch |
| Party1: | Democratic |
| Alliance1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 912,622 |
| Percentage1: | 74.6% |
| Candidate2: | Frank J. Barbaro |
| Party2: | Unity |
| Party Name: | no |
| Popular Vote2: | 162,719 |
| Percentage2: | 13.3% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Ed Koch |
| Before Party: | Democratic |
| After Election: | Ed Koch |
| After Party: | Democratic |
The New York City mayoral election of 1981 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 1981, with Democratic incumbent Mayor Ed Koch being re-elected to a second term by a landslide margin.
Koch won both the Democratic and Republican nominations and appeared on the ballot with both of their lines. He only faced opposition from third parties in the election.[1]
Koch received an overwhelming 74.64% of the vote citywide. Koch also swept all five boroughs by landslide margins, breaking 60% of the vote in Manhattan and breaking 70% of the vote in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.[2] Koch's closest competitor was the short-lived New York Unity Party nominee Frank J. Barbaro, who received 13.31%. Finishing in a distant third and fourth were the Conservative Party nominee, John A. Esposito, who received 4.92%, and Liberal Party nominee, Mary T. Codd, who received 3.41%.
Koch won the Democratic Primary with 347,351 votes (59.8%), defeating Barbaro who had 209,369 votes (36.0%) and Melvin Klenetsky who had 24,352 votes (4.2%).
Koch also won the Republican Primary, defeating Esposito by 44,724 to 22,354.
Koch had 738,288 Democratic votes and 174,334 Republican votes.Others = 45,485. Jeronimo Dominguez – Right to Life – 32,790 2.7%; Judith Jones – Libertarian – 6,902 0.6%; Wells Todd – Socialist Workers – 5,793 0.5%