But Moreno isn\u2019t the only DSA member running for the seat. So is Abdelhamid, who cut her teeth in the district organizing along Steinway Street and teaching local Muslim women how to defend themselves. She has the support of Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, Councilmember Julie Won and several groups, including the Muslim Democratic Club of New York. <\/p>\n
Jobaida, an organizer, also is a DSA member. She has support in the local Bangladeshi community and was endorsed by State Senator John Liu. <\/p>\n
A majority of voters the Eagle spoke with on Tuesday said they cast ballots for Moreno. <\/p>\n
Among them was Louis K., a 71-year-old voter at Information Technology High School who braved the cold to cast his ballot for the mayor\u2019s chosen successor. The weather didn\u2019t stand a chance of keeping him from voting \u2013 he\u2019s voted in every election since 1972, he said. <\/p>\n
Louis K. said the city and state\u2019s ability to respond to President Donald Trump played a significant role in who he voted for. He said he voted for Moreno partly due to the endorsement she received from Mamdani, believing it was important for the mayor to receive as much support from elected officials as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing I really want to do is check [President Donald Trump], that\u2019s crucial for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what the Assembly can do, but I think the more help we give Mamdani, the more help Mamdani can get to attack the nightmare in the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another Information Technology High School voter, Kellie J., also voted for Moreno and said that the candidate\u2019s platform spoke to her. Kellie J., who commutes to Manhattan for work as a consultant at an architectural firm, said child care was her biggest issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a three-year-old kid, so that plays a major part in my vote today,\u201d she told the Eagle. \u201cJust the concept of \u2018I know the struggle of trying to live in the city and afford child care,\u2019 and I just like the platform she stands on for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two voters were part of only a small handful who showed up to the polling site Tuesday morning. <\/p>\n
Voter turnout wasn\u2019t much higher in the nearby Queensbridge Houses, where the local polling site had counted 20 voters by 9 a.m.<\/p>\n
One Queensbridge Houses resident, Pamela McGraw, voted for Mary Jobaida then immediately took to campaigning for her right down the street from the poll site, handing out pamphlets to passersbys. McGraw, a retired security guard, said she voted for Jobaida because of her presence in the community, and her belief that she could deliver on her promises.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see her, not only when it comes time to vote,\u201d McGraw said. \u201cShe comes out with the food banks and pantries, listens to our concerns for the people in the area. She\u2019s active in the community\u2026You see her coming out, asking questions to the seniors, which they need more than anything.\u201d <\/p>\n
Canvassers for both Jobaida and Moreno were spotted throughout Astoria on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Moreno campaign told the Eagle they had over 90 volunteers taking to the streets and poll sites in the morning to get last-minute votes.<\/p>\n
Moreno cast her own ballot at PS 166Q in Astoria around 10:15 a.m. on election day, after leading a procession of supporters down Steinway Street chanting Moreno\u2019s name and encouraging passing Queens residents to vote. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are fighting for is a world, a city, a Queens, where that abundance, that safety, that dignity belongs to all of us,\u201d Moreno told her supporters on Tuesday. \u201cThis is the place where we can show the world what the alternative to fascism is, which is Democratic Socialism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abdelhamid was also out on the streets on Tuesday, campaigning near various poll sites hoping to make an impact before polls close. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain optimistic about turnout despite the weather related-disruptions to early voting,\u201d a spokesperson for Abdelhamid told the Eagle in a statement on Tuesday. \u201cOur focus is on making sure people have clear information and a plan to vote. Even in a February special election, we\u2019re seeing strong engagement, and we\u2019re confident that voters will show up and make their voices heard today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jobaida did not respond to a request for comment from the Eagle by time of publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"But Moreno isn\u2019t the only DSA member running for the seat. So is Abdelhamid, who cut her teeth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-122084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}