NEW YORK: New York City’s mayoral candidates made a final push on Monday (Nov 3) to get voters to the polls, as the race to lead the biggest city in the US nears its finale.
Ahead of election day on Tuesday, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa were campaigning frenetically across the city’s five boroughs, making a case for why they should succeed Mayor Eric Adams.
More than 735,000 early votes have already been cast – the highest number ever in a New York City mayoral election – dwarfing 2021’s early in-person turnout, which was the first mayoral race in the city with early voting.
This year’s early voter turnout fell short of the total from the last presidential election, when just over 1 million early in-person votes were cast.
Cuomo had a packed schedule on Monday, setting out to hit each of the boroughs for a get-out-the-vote effort. Sliwa was also crisscrossing the city for a similar effort.
Mamdani, meanwhile, kicked off the day by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan with supporters at sunrise, carrying a banner alongside Democratic allies.
“I continue to be confident about our chances heading into Election Day tomorrow,” Mamdani said at a news conference outside City Hall. “But I will not allow myself, or let this movement, to become complacent.”
TRUMP COMMENTS ON NYC RACE
In an interview on “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, President Donald Trump said if Mamdani wins, “it’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York.”
Mischaracterizing Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as a communist, Trump said he would choose Cuomo between the two of them.
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,” he said.
Mamdani, 34, who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, jolted the political world when he defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary election, with an energetic campaign focused on making the city a more affordable place to live.
As the race approaches the finish line, he’s continued to post viral social media videos and run a relentless ground game, while warning his progressive fan base not to become complacent and to send as many supporters to the polls as possible.
Source: CNA
