Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman hit the campaign trail hard as early voting ends in New York
The candidates in the New York governor's race traversed the state on Sunday, looking to score late points with voters ahead of Tuesday's election.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was in New York City, which typically votes blue, and Nassau County Executive and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman spent part of his time in Suffolk County, Rensselaer County, and Oswego County, parts of the state political experts say he stands a chance to gain some votes.
Sunday marked the final day of early voting. The New York City Board of Elections said the unofficial total number of ballots cast in the city was 690,526. Statewide, more than 1.7 million voted early, according to the state Board of Elections.
In the city, the unofficial vote tally by borough was:
- Manhattan: 188,434
- Bronx: 67,630
- Brooklyn: 219,536
- Queens: 162,914
- Staten Island: 52,012
Shaking hands with people at a Buffalo Bills bar in Astoria, Queens, and holding a baby alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was part of how Hochul appealed to voters Sunday, two days before Election Day.
Hochul was asked who was going to win by more, the Bills against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, or the governor against Blakeman on Tuesday.
"Oh, that is a tough one. Well, we're already up 10, so it's probably the Bills," Hochul said.
For the record, Buffalo won by 26 on Sunday. It remains to be seen if the governor will have as easy a time.
The cheers and enthusiasm Hochul got in Queens were similar to the welcome Blakeman received at a golf course in Suffolk County.
"We are leaving no stone unturned because this is a turnout election," Blakeman said. "I have seen two statewide polls in the last three weeks that have us less than four points behind, so that is incredible. That means we're in the margin of error."
The focus for both Hochul and Blakeman is affordability. The governor spoke about it with CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer on "The Point" on Sunday.
"What I'm doing is trying to make parenthood be more affordable for those families who are individuals saying I can't afford to start a family. Universal childcare helps with that for someone who says the expense of a new baby is a lot. I just introduced a $1,000 tax break for families with child under the age of 4," Hochul said.
In Northport, Blakeman campaigned alongside Congressman Nick LaLota.
"We're going to cut taxes. First $100,000, no matter what your bracket is, no state income taxes in joint filer. First $50,000 is a single filer, no state income tax. We are going cut utility bills in half," Blakeman said.
New Yorkers casting their ballots in Queens on Sunday told CBS News New York about the issues that are top of mind. In addition to affordability, they include immigration, inflation, and crime.
Hochul said subway crime has decreased.
"I put police officers there. I brought in the National Guard. I was criticized by my party for doing that, but I wanted to have a calming presence. They're still there. We have more police resources. In fact, I'm helping fund overtime for NYPD so they can be visible," Hochul said.
Blakeman has criticized the bail reform laws under Hochul.
"Kathy Hochul is the most pro-criminal governor in the United States of America," Blakeman said. "I cut taxes my first year in office. A $150 million tax cut and I hired almost 900 new law enforcement professionals."
Political pundit J.C. Polanco, a law professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, said the voting public appears hyper-focused on the midterm elections.
"A lot of New Yorkers are going to come out this election cycle and send a message to both Mayor Mamdani and, um, President Trump, who are the two big elephants in the room," Polanco said. "And we have a lot of New Yorkers that are engaged. You have 1.7 million New Yorkers that have actually voted early. This is amazing. This is anywhere from 62% to 65% more people turning out early than they did just four years ago.
Polanco said polls show an even match between the governor and the Nassau County executive in the suburbs. He said the odds are against Blakeman based on the way New Yorkers have voted in the past, but he could change the tide by winning over independent voters.
"Blakeman is winning in the rural counties outside of the suburbs. He's doing very well in those red counties," Polanco said. "It's going to be tough for him to overcome the incredible Democratic enrollment figures out of New York City. But if he has any shot of actually winning, he wins through the suburbs and through independent voters.
"Quinnipiac and Siena polls show that the independent voters are very much up for grabs this election cycle, with Siena showing a majority of independents supporting Blakeman and Quinnipiac showing a majority of independent supporting Gov. Hochul," Polanco added. "But again, there are 3.43 million independent voters in New York. There are more independent voters than there are Republicans in New York. Bruce Blakeman knows this. It's why he has, for the last week, reminded New Yorkers that he's not Donald Trump, that he is pro-choice, and how he differs from President Trump, because he wants independent voters to consider him on Election Day."
Blakeman is traveling upstate and into Manhattan on Monday. Hochul's public schedule says she'll be in the city.
