Hochul spends first weekend of early voting with Mamdani in tow

During the first weekend of early voting, Gov. Kathy Hochul campaigned alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani twice – in Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s McCarren Park Friday evening and at a labor canvass kick off Sunday at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, Brooklyn – as she hopes to rack up big numbers in the five boroughs by energizing the young, progressive voters who helped propel Mamdani to victory a year ago. Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, held his own early voting kick off rallies in the Big Apple as he attempts to eat into the moderate governor’s totals in the Democratic stronghold. 

Introducing her on stage Sunday to a crowd that included members of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, Teamsters, District Council 37 and Laborers, Mamdani lauded Hochul for her partnership on childcare, including helping to launch free 2-K in the city. “To me, there are political events where we have to go to, it’s a little more difficult to be up there on that stage,” Mamdani said. “Today is not one of those. The choice is simple for me and for every New York.” 

Mamdani made sure to shout out the Working Families Party, who also advised the labor event, but whose leaders did not speak at the event. The day before, when he cast his vote early, Mamdani told reporters he was “excited” to have voted for Hochul on the WFP line, as opposed to the Democratic Party line. 

Hochul did not acknowledge the WFP when she joined Mamdani in an auditorium at Medgar Evers College, but told reporters before the event she was fine with the mayor tacitly encouraging others not to vote on the Democratic line. “OK by me, as long as they vote,” she said. 

The governor – who also voted early on Saturday in Buffalo during a day of upstate campaigning – made a point Sunday of highlighting her partnership with Mamdani, who remained on stage with her even after introducing her and stayed there for the entirety of her remarks. “I want to thank our mayor for all he has done for the city in a relatively short time,” Hochul said. “The difference that you have made through your leadership and your willingness to stand up and fight for our families … I cannot think of a better partner than our mayor, Zohran Mamdani.”

Polling shows Hochul with a fairly comfortable lead over Blakeman, but after a lackluster single-digit victory four years ago, she’s banking on a big turnout in New York City to give her a larger margin of victory this go around. Two days of early voting don’t paint a full picture, but turnout so far suggests more enthusiasm than 2022. 

Preliminary numbers from the New York City Board of Elections show over 165,000 votes cast through the first two days of early voting. That’s on par with the numbers seen in the 2025 general election, when Mamdani was on the ballot in a highly contentious mayoral race. And it’s almost double what the 97,155 the city recorded the first two days last time Hochul was running in 2022.

Blakeman spent the first day of early voting Saturday in New York City for what his campaign called a “three-borough rally blitz.” He focused on areas Republicans typically have done better in: Staten Island, southern Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens.

Blakeman needled Hochul for appearing with Mamdani on Friday, calling the mayor a “communist,” “un-American” and an “antisemite,” all descriptors the Republican gubernatorial nominee has used before. “They were only here for 15 minutes,” Blakeman said Saturday of Hochul and Mamdani’s McCarren Park visit a day earlier. “Even Zohran Mamdani can’t stand to be with her for more than 15 minutes.”

Blakeman kept with the theme during a rally Sunday in Westchester County, calling the governor’s recent appearances with Mamdani “great.” “Please take (Mamdani) everywhere you go, Kathy, because I want to remind people that this un-American, antisemite, anti-Christian mayor is running the Democratic Party and Kathy Hochul is nothing more than his puppet,” he said.