{"id":16794,"date":"2025-10-25T22:23:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T22:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/16794\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T22:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T22:23:14","slug":"early-voting-under-way-as-nyc-residents-tap-mamdani-cuomo-or-sliwa-as-next-mayor-plus-these-other-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/16794\/","title":{"rendered":"Early voting under way as NYC residents tap Mamdani, Cuomo or Sliwa as next mayor \u2014 plus these other races"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s up to you, New York, New York.<\/p>\n

Early voting kicked off Saturday in the Big Apple, with New Yorkers facing the stark decision of whether the City that Never Sleeps should be led by an anti-Israel socialist.<\/p>\n

Gloria Resto, a retired 77-year-old who was among the first in line at a Co-op City polling site, said she voted ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo because she doesn\u2019t trust the frontrunner, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani or his socialist platforms.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New Yorkers started the process of choosing the city\u2019s next mayor and other elected office holders Saturday when early voting kicked off ahead of the Nov. 4 general election. Brigitte Stelzer<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some things [Cuomo] did that I don\u2019t approve of, but then I have to weigh the difference between him and Mamdani,\u201d said Resto, after being among the first on line at the Co-op City Dreiser Loop Community Center Auditorium polling site in The Bronx Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Jewish people. I don\u2019t put people in boxes. I love everybody, and [Mamdani], I don\u2019t believe him. He\u2019s saying things that he wants you to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connie Fortunato, a retired 79-year-old, also said she\u2019s willing to look past the scandals that led to Cuomo resigning as governor in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuomo! I always liked Cuomo,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Republican<\/p>\n

Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa could be seen casting his vote. Robert Miller<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, people do things they shouldn\u2019t do. Everybody gets a pass. Give the man a pass. Nobody\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really does know what he\u2019s talking about when he talks. This guy in Mamdani or whatever his name is? He\u2019s gonna put this country in a lot of hot water.\u201d<\/p>\n

But staunch lefties like\u00a0Richard Lawson, Jr., 84, said they voted for Mamdani because of his dislike for President Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is important \u2014 I\u2019m voting for anybody that\u2019s not for Trump,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Mamdani, I\u2019ll take him. He\u2019s asking for things that the people: need, rent, wages, child support,\u201d added Lawsoon, failing to mention the president is no ally of\u00a0Cuomo or Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents can visit polling sites to vote early through Nov. 2. Brigitte Stelzer<\/p>\n

James Vargas, a retired 62-year-old, said he\u2019s voting for\u00a0Sliwa.<\/p>\n

\u201cSliwa, he\u2019s a Guardian Angel; he wears a red hat,\u201d Vargas said. \u201cSeems like he wants to help the city. I don\u2019t trust the Democrats. I don\u2019t trust Republicans. We\u2019re in a mess.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019ll do some things, see what happens. Otherwise, we vote him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sliwa voted early for himself on Saturday at the Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, is the presumptive favorite\u00a0to replace Mayor Eric Adams and oversee the city\u2019s $115 billion budget and nearly 300,000-member workforce.<\/p>\n

Helping his cause:\u00a0Cuomo, a Dem running as an independent, and Sliwa are expected to split votes among moderates and conservatives.<\/p>\n

Adams, a centrist Democrat, suspended his sagging re-election campaign last month as fundraising lagged following a federal probe, even though he was cleared of corruption allegations.<\/p>\n

\"Queens<\/p>\n

Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and an avowed socialist, is the presumptive favorite to replace Mayor Eric Adams. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n

The incumbent mayor remains on the ballot as an independent \u2013 as does lawyer Jim Walden.<\/p>\n

NYC\u2019s 5.1 million registered voters <\/a>can cast early votes for mayor and other races citywide by visiting polling sites through Nov. 2, with the polls open most days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Oct. 28-29 (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and Oct. 31 (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.).<\/p>\n

Gloria Resto, a retired 77-year-old, said she\u2019s voting for Cuomo because he appears to be President Donald Trump\u2019s preferred candidate in the race \u2013 and because she doesn\u2019t trust the anti-Israel Mamdani\u2019s socialist platforms.<\/p>\n

\"Independent<\/p>\n

Independent candidate for mayor Andrew Cuomo was seen outside polling places in Co-Op City in The Bronx. J.C. Rice<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Jewish people. I don\u2019t put people in boxes. I love everybody. And [Mamdani], I don\u2019t believe him. He\u2019s saying things that he wants you to believe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then he says, he\u2019s going to tax all white people\u2026 What are you talking about? So all of those things. Cuomo was the better person. Even though he didn\u2019t do good to the nursing homes [during the COVID pandemic], I\u2019m just putting that aside and thinking about what he\u2019s gonna do for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, James Vargas, a retired 62 year old, said he\u2019s voting for Sliwa.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New polls showed Cuomo trailing Mamdani by almost 20 points. Robert Miller<\/p>\n

\u201cSliwa, he\u2019s a Guardian Angel; he wears a red hat,\u201d he said. \u201cSeems like he wants to help the city. I don\u2019t trust the Democrats. I don\u2019t trust Republicans. We\u2019re in a mess.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019ll do some things, see what happens. Otherwise, we vote him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the campaign, the mayoral candidates have bickered on how to deal with hot-button issues such as crime, homelessness, affordability, and relations with Israel and Trump.<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s coverage of the NYC mayoral race<\/p>\n

Polls showed Mamdani trouncing Cuomo by nearly 20 points, 46.7% to 28.6%, with Sliwa a distant third with 16.2%, according to a new survey of voters released Friday by Victory Insights.<\/a><\/p>\n

The poll also shockingly revealed that a \u201cwhopping\u201d 26.5% of respondents are thinking about fleeing the Big Apple if the Israel-hating, 34-year-old socialist wins and becomes the youngest mayor of America\u2019s largest city in more than a century.<\/p>\n

\"Sliwa<\/p>\n

Sliwa is still polling in a distant third, getting 16.2% in a survey released by Victory Insights on Friday. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

Colleen McGee, a 58-year-old administrative assistant, showed up at Museum of the Moving Image polling site in Astoria at 7:30 a.m. \u2013 making her\u00a0first in line there when the polls opened at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n

She said she greatly\u00a0appreciates\u00a0New\u00a0York\u2019s\u00a0early-voting option, which began in 2019 and has been growing more popular yearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring work week, if you work every day, I work in the city, I have to be at work at 6 o\u2019clock in the morning,\u201d said McGee, who declined to say who she voted for.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who shockingly lost the Democratic primary, is running as an independent for mayor. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t vote and then get to work and get there on time, it\u2019s easier\u2026\u2026the early voting is great. I\u2019m at my own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides voting for mayor, New Yorkers will also weigh in on the citywide offices of comptroller and public advocate; the City Council\u2019s 51 seats; the borough president and district attorney posts in each of the five boroughs; and lower-level state and city judicial posts.<\/p>\n

Many races are unopposed or noncompetitive, with registered Democrats holding a more than 6 to 1 advantage over Republicans in NYC.<\/p>\n

\"Guardian<\/p>\n

Guardian Angels founder Sliwa has resisted calls to step aside. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Some of the more competitive Council races include Republican incumbent Kristy Marmorato trying to fend off Democrat Shirley Aldebol for a seat representing northeastern parts of the Bronx; two of term-limited Councilman Bob Holden\u2019s staffers, Republican Alicia Vaichunas and Democrat Phil Wong, fighting for the right to represent parts of central Queens.<\/p>\n

And\u00a0Democrat Kayla Santosuosso\u00a0is\u00a0squaring off against Republican George Sarantopoulos in a \u201cpurple\u201d stretch\u00a0of\u00a0southern\u00a0Brooklyn,\u00a0which reaches from Bay Ridge to Coney Island.<\/p>\n

Santosuosso is chief of staff for term-limited\u00a0Democratic incumbent\u00a0Justin Brannan.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New Yorkers will also weigh in on the citywide offices of comptroller and public advocate. Robert Miller<\/p>\n

And\u00a0Democrat Kayla Santosuosso squaring off against Republican George Sarantopoulos in a \u201cpurple\u201d stretch southern Brooklyn which reaches from Bay Ridge to Coney Island. Santosuosso is chief of staff for term-limited incumbent Justin Brannan.<\/p>\n

Other races to watch include soft-on-crime Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg facing off against Republican Maud Maron <\/a>and Diana Florence, a longtime DA office staffer running as an independent.<\/p>\n

Voters can also weigh in on five citywide ballot proposals \u2014 including three that give mayors more power over housing development while reducing much of the sway individual council members can now exercise on rezoning and related issues in their districts.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll also get to decide on a statewide measure to retroactively bring into compliance an expansion of the Olympic Complex in upstate Essex County near Lake Placid <\/a>by mandating the state buy 2,500 acres of land to add to the Adirondack Forest Preserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s up to you, New York, New York. Early voting kicked off Saturday in the Big Apple, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[80,154,11856,11857,2400,9,56,63,65,64,8410,11858,4727,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-16794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-andrew-cuomo","9":"tag-curtis-sliwa","10":"tag-gloria-resto","11":"tag-james-vargas","12":"tag-mayor-eric-adams","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-nyc-headlines","17":"tag-nyc-news","18":"tag-republican-nominee","19":"tag-robert-miller","20":"tag-voting","21":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16794","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=16794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}