William O'Dwyer, who had built his reputation as Brooklyn's top prosecutor on his case against
Murder, Inc., ran for mayor once again. In 1941,
William O'Dwyer lost to incumbent
Fiorello LaGuardia by over 100,000 votes. In the following years, however, he enhanced his political image by enlisting in
World War II. Behind the scenes, he also cultivated ties to powerful members of
Tammany Hall, which had reluctantly backed his 1941 campaign, and allegedly sought common cause with organized crime figures such as
Frank Costello. With both popular and party support, O'Dwyer had no trouble gaining the Democratic nomination for a second consecutive campaign, though he bowed to pressure from U.S. Representative
Vito Marcantonio and gangster
Thomas Luchese to nominate
Vincent Impellitteri for president of the City Council. The
American Labor Party, led by Marcantonio, also nominated O'Dwyer. ==Republican nomination==