High temps, high stakes and the final push

Politico

24-06-2025

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: As voters headed to polls in triple-digit temps to cast their votes in the contentious New York City mayoral primary today, the once-clear frontrunner Andrew Cuomo appeared to be on his back foot — and begging.
'We can do it, but it's going to take all of us,' Cuomo said Monday night in a leaked private call with health care union members entrusted with getting out the vote. 'Please, please, please make the special effort.'
Real-feel temps in New York City exceeded 105 degrees Tuesday, and older voters — who make up Cuomo's base — faced dangerous conditions across the city.
By 3 p.m., the city's Board of Elections said 710,858 voters — including 384,338 who opted for early voting — checked into polling locations to cast their ballots.
What started as a race defined by a decisive frontrunner and a distant, crowded field of candidates has winnowed down to a two-person race, with recent polls showing Zohran Mamdani has closed the gap between himself and Cuomo.
'Our vote doesn't tend to come out until Election Day,' Cuomo warned in the private call. 'The problem is, Election Day is tomorrow, and it's supposed to be near 100 degrees, so we have to make sure we get people out early in the morning, later in the evening, but it's going to be all about the turnout.'
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said of the call, 'It was a portion of a GOTV call he did with members, which is typical.'
In one section of Brooklyn, the air conditioning system broke down in a retirement home doubling as a polling site — one example of the difficulty posed by the heat.
'Do you or someone you know have a portable AC to lend or donate for the day?' Council Member Jen Gutiérrez wrote in a social media plea from one of the city's 1,213 polling stations. 'We need it to keep voters cool and seniors safe.' (The city's Board of Elections said it was sending over two fans; Gutiérrez said that was insufficient.)
As some poll workers boiled inside, Mamdani campaigned with fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander on Manhattan's high-turnout Upper West Side. Mamdani's bodyguard handed the candidates, who cross endorsed each other recently, bottles of blue Gatorade.
'Goal No. 1: Add our votes together to block Andrew Cuomo,' Lander said. 'At the same time, something quite beautiful has happened. People are excited by the idea of a politics that's more collaborative. They like the idea of a Muslim New Yorker and a Jewish New Yorker campaigning together.'
'This could be the tonic to the politics of the Trump administration,' Mamdani added. 'It is what people are looking for. They don't want a mirror image of Washington, D.C. They want an antidote to it.'
Cuomo voted around 10:30 a.m. in Midtown Manhattan, where he noted that 'yes, it's a little bit warm.'
'We've learned the hard way that when you don't vote and only a small number of people come out, you often get a perverse outcome,' he said. 'Yes, it may be a little inconvenient to vote on a hot day, but vote today and change the trajectory of the city of New York.' Cuomo said.
Read the full report from POLITICO's Jason Beeferman, Jeff Coltin and Amira McKee
FROM THE POLLS
CHATTING WITH VOTERS: POLITICO was out at polling locations across the city, chatting with voters and watching candidates as they made their final plea to New Yorkers.
In East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where Cuomo hopes his base of middle-class Black voters will propel him to victory, voters largely made it to the polls without incident Tuesday morning, according to several poll workers who spoke with POLITICO.
But Diana Russell, a poll-site coordinator PS 235, said the big rush will come at the end of the day, when temperatures are expected to remain in the 90s.
'In the evening, it gets very hectic,' she said.
On the Upper West Side, where Lander and Mamdani were speaking with voters, one voter wasn't swayed by the show.
'Pack it up. It's all over! Maybe next time!' 86-year-old Robert Williams said to Lander volunteers as he passed by.
Williams, who is Black and lives on the Upper West Side, had voted for Cuomo at 6 a.m.
'Nobody else,' he said. 'They're not selling nothing to me. Cuomo, we know what he's gonna do. He was the governor.'
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Ryan was taking a selfie with Mamdani.
'I wish I could vote… I made sure both of my parents did not rank Andrew Cuomo,' he said.
In Astoria, Queens, part of Mamdani's state Assembly district, his canvassers were at every corner near a polling site, some using campaign lit to fan themselves and passersby. They were optimistic but acknowledged their view may be skewed because the neighborhood is a stronghold for their candidate.
And in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, city comptroller candidate Justin Brannan campaigned from an ice cream truck plastered with signs bearing his name and logo.
'Free ice cream for all, no strings attached,' Brannan told Playbook. 'Most have already voted. Most voted for me. They get extra sprinkles.' — Jeff Coltin, Joe Anuta and Emily Ngo
From City Hall
ADAMS THE INDEPENDENT: As candidates criss-cross the five boroughs today to make their final pitches to Democratic primary voters, Mayor Eric Adams stayed on the sidelines — insisting he'll be a factor in November's general election.
'I know I'm very much in this race, and out of everyone that's running, there's only one thing that I have that no one else has: I won before for mayor,' he said. 'I know how to win a race for mayor.'
The Democratic incumbent, who's running as a political independent, remains adamant he can still win despite low approval ratings brought on, in part, by the Trump administration pushing to drop federal corruption charges against him. After the dust of today's primary settles, Adams is likely to face off against Cuomo and Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden.
During a press conference Tuesday in Queens, Adams said he's 'happy' the race will ultimately be decided in November, an apparent nod to the fact that the Democratic nominee in deep blue New York City mayoral races typically goes on to win the general election.
'People said he can never run as an independent,' Adams said, referring to himself in the third person. 'Then why is Andrew running on the independent [line]? Why is Mamdani running on the independent? Something Eric Adams figured out that everyone else is now running on an independent. So I'm gonna see them in November.'
Cuomo has secured an independent ballot line for the general election. And if Mamdani loses the primary, it's likely he'll run on the Working Families Party line.
Adams contended his incumbency gives him an edge too, noting that mayors Michael Bloomberg and John Lindsay ran as independents. He also slammed the likely general election field.
'One person doesn't have a record, the other person is running from his record and I have a record — actually two people don't have a record,' he said. 'Curtis does a good job with cats, but he doesn't do a good job in making sure our city's functioning.'
The Queens press conference Adams held Tuesday focused on a 28 percent drop in crime along Roosevelt Avenue from January through mid-June. He's likely to emphasize that dip, along with his broader focus on crime, when he hits the campaign trail in the coming days. — Madina Touré
AT THE BALLOT BOX
EARLY VOTING INCREASES STATEWIDE: The surge in early voting in New York City compared to four years ago has received widespread attention as the first concrete data point tied to the mayoral results.
The increase could be a sign voters are much more engaged than four years ago — and the first definitive piece of evidence showing Mamdani's campaign has expanded the electorate. A quarter of early voters are participating in a primary for the first time.
Or it could simply be an indication people are now aware early voting exists — and that more voters, particularly newer ones who don't have ingrained voting habits, are casting early ballots that they would have otherwise cast on Primary Day. Early voting was first offered during a primary in June 2020, when candidates were more likely to encourage people to vote by mail rather than by lingering in crowded indoor areas. In June 2021 — the first time early voting was applied to a New York City mayoral primary — much of the electorate likely didn't even know it was an option.
One reason this latter scenario might not be implausible: Early voting's up in most of the state — not just the Big Apple — according to preliminary numbers from the state Board of Elections.
The biggest jump among large counties was in Suffolk, where the number of early voters increased 227 percent from 2021. That tops the increases of 118 percent in Brooklyn, 114 percent in Queens and 102 percent in Manhattan.
This year's Suffolk primaries are dominated by Republican battles. In several towns, GOP incumbents are being challenged due to their support for the kind of high-density housing Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to build in the suburbs.
The increase in Albany was 102 percent. In Onondaga, it was 94 percent. Both counties feature Democratic primaries in open mayoral races in their largest cities. In Erie, where Buffalo voters will decide whether to give acting Mayor Chris Scanlon a full term, early voting turnout increased 34 percent.
The largest overall increase was 4,400 percent in Delaware County, where there are a lot more candidates on the ballot this year than in 2021. It grew 1,100 percent in Sullivan County, where a GOP sheriff's race featuring allegations of illicit love triangles and a stolen firearm has gotten a lot of attention.
Early voting decreased by 20 percent in Monroe County. Rochester Mayor Malik Evans has two Democratic challengers this year, but his race is less dramatic than when he toppled an indicted incumbent four years ago.
There's nothing on the ballot in Nassau County this June, so turnout fell to 0. — Bill Mahoney
IN OTHER NEWS
— SCENES FROM THE HOTTEST BLOCKS IN NYC: How hot was it really? Don't ask New Yorkers living and working next to Newtown Creek. (The New York Times)
— DUELING OP-EDS: The New York Times says, 'The attacks on Zohran Mamdani show we need a new understanding of antisemitism;' The New York Post says, 'Get out and vote against the menace that is Zohran Mamdani.'
— CHAPTER CLOSES IN MIGRANT CRISIS: The Roosevelt Hotel, which once served as the command center for the city's expansive migrant services operation, finally closed. (AP)
Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.