Early voting ends Sunday. But the race for New York governor is heating up. Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul took to the streets in the city today while her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blackman, addressed supporters in the east.
The Republican nominee for New York governor makes his pitch to voters in Northport, Long Island, on Sunday (Image: NBC New York)
At a sports bar in Astoria, Queens, Hochul watched her beloved football team play and some popular local politicians she hoped would help her win votes. Harnessing some political star power, Hochul met with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx) and Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City). Last year, the mayor won that corner of Astoria by 41 points. Hochul predicted she would win the race by a narrow margin.
But on Sunday in Northport, Long Island, Blackman predicted his campaign was “poised to score a stunning victory on Tuesday night to save our state.” He spoke at Crab Meadow Golf Course in Northport. From there, he traveled to Oswego and Rensselaer counties.
Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul holds her baby while watching a Buffalo Bills game with Mayor Zohran Mamdani (left) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right) in Astoria, Queens, on Sunday.
Blackman said the rankings are stricter than experts recommend.
Hochul held a double-digit lead in last week’s Siena and Marist polls, although one poll showed her leading by 11 points as the number of independent voters in New York continues to grow. Another puts Blackman ahead of independents by 10 points. “The truth is, forget the college wake polls. They overestimated Democrats. They underestimated Republicans. They were trying to depress our turnout, they were trying to depress our fundraising,” Blackman said.
“We’ve been going around the state talking to swing voters. I went down to Buffalo. I was in Suffolk County yesterday. I was in Nassau County,” Hochul told reporters Sunday.
Before turning to football, Hochul spent Sunday hitting up some of the iconic brunch spots on the Upper West Side. She asked supporters to spread the word about the importance of voting, and Blackman did the same.
“Get out your phone tonight. Make a list of 50 people,” Blackman told the audience.
Blackman pointed to the national impact of Long Island’s swing districts, where a new NBC News poll found that voters say Democrats should control Congress, 52% to 45%.
Blackman plans to conduct sweeps across the state on Monday. He’ll travel to Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and back to Manhattan. As of press time, Hochul’s campaign had not publicly announced Monday’s schedule.