NEW YORK (NewsNation) — New York City’s mayoral candidates are making a final push Monday to get voters to the polls as the race to lead America’s biggest city nears its finale.
Ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa are campaigning across the city as they make their case to succeed outgoing 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.
2 charged in connection with alleged Halloween terror plot
Mamdani, 34, a state assemblymember who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, jolted the political world when he defeated Cuomo in the primary with an energetic campaign focused on affordability.
Cuomo is trying to make his return to political office after resigning as governor four years ago following a barrage of sexual harassment accusations that he denies. Now running as an independent, the 67-year-old has in recent days shifted to wooing Republican voters to bolster his centrist base, pitching himself as the only candidate who can stop Mamdani.
Sliwa, the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group and a longtime fixture on New York’s airwaves, seeks to spoil both Democrats’ chances. He’s been heavily canvassing the streets and subways in his signature red beret to spread his message of public safety.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
