National Affairs: Son-Up in New York

Before New York City voters went to the polls to elect a mayor, there was little doubt about the outcome (TIME, Nov. 2). Tammanyite Lawyer Robert F. Wagner Jr., 43, president of the Borough of Manhattan and son of the late U.S. Senator Robert F. Wagner (sponsor of the Wagner labor act), was a sure winner.

He polled 1,021,488 votes, 46.3% of all ballots cast. Republican Candidate Harold Riegelman got 661,410 votes, 29.9% of the total, the highest percentage that any candidate for mayor of New York City has ever received on the Republican ticket. Tagging along as a poor third (468,392 votes) was Liberal Candidate Rudolph Halley, better known outside New York than any of the other candidates because of his television performances as the Kefauver committee's chief inquisitor.

The election of a New-Fair Deal son of a famous father as mayor of New York immediately increased the speculation that the Democratic candidate for governor of the Empire State next year may well be another New-Fair Deal son: Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.