Final stretch: New York governor candidates hit the streets as early voting ends

Early voting came to a close Sunday. But the race for New York governor is heating up. Democratic incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul hit the pavement today in the city, while her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, spoke to his supporters out east.

At an Astoria, Queens sports bar, Hochul watched her beloved football team alongside some popular local politicians who she hopes will help her get out the vote. Tapping into some political star power, Hochul met up with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/The Bronx) and Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City). The mayor won that corner of Astoria by 41 points last year. Hochul is predicting a narrower victory in her race.

But in Northport, Long Island Sunday, Blakeman predicted that his campaign is “poised to have a stunning victory on Tuesday night to save our state.” He spoke at the Crab Meadow Golf Course in Northport. From there, he headed to Oswego and Rensselaer Counties.

Blakeman says the leaderboard is tighter than what pundits suggest.

Hochul holds a double-digit lead in last week’s Siena and Marist polls, though one of those polls puts her ahead by 11 points with New York’s growing number of independent voters. The other puts Blakeman ahead with independents by 10 points. “Fact is that forget about the university woke polls. They overcount Democrats. They undercount Republicans. They try to frustrate our turnout, frustrate our fundraising,” Blakeman said.

Hochul told reporters Sunday “We’ve been swinging all over the state to talk to swing voters. I did a run to Buffalo. I was in Suffolk County yesterday. I’ve been to Nassau County.”

Before turning to football, Hochul hit some iconic brunch spots on the Upper West Side Sunday. She was asking supporters to spread the word that it’s important to vote, and Blakeman did the same.

“Get your phone out tonight. Make a list of 50 people,” Blakeman told an audience.

Blakeman noted the national implications in swing districts on Long Island as a new NBC News Poll found voters think Democrats should control Congress, 52% to 45%.

Blakeman plans a statewide sweep Monday. He’ll be in Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and then back in Manhattan. Hochul’s campaign had not publicly released its schedule for Monday at publication time.