The big rush of New Yorkers to cast ballots during early voting is just fantastic and we cheer it on, please keep it coming. The future of the city is in your hands as we pick a new mayor, so be counted. If you didn’t vote yet, get out there between now and Sunday during the early rounds or on next Tuesday on Election Day itself.
Both Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani recognize that the flood of early votes is surpassing previous experiences. The first days of early voting saw more than twice the turnout during the same period of early voting in the high interest primary in June, when the same two main contenders faced off and Mamdani prevailed.
However, in the general election, there’s good reason to think that the more the merrier may be to Cuomo’s advantage. Having strongly endorsed Cuomo, we hope so. Under that reasoning, a larger number of centrists will be participating, as opposed to the more ideological types who dominate primaries. And that has always been Cuomo’s strength, the center, when he was governor and how he would be as mayor.
Mamdani comes from the left extreme and appeals to those voters, not the middle.
The preliminary numbers from this week’s early voting are even more of a reason not to waste time or ballots on spoiler candidate Curtis Sliwa. Since Sliwa won’t drop out, as he loves the attention to himself more than he loves the city, the voters should just ignore him. Only Cuomo and Mamdani can win this. Only one of them will be the next mayor. That is the only choice. As Joe Borelli, the former City Council’s GOP minority leader, said, “I am no fan of Andrew Cuomo, but I also don’t want to light my vote on fire” by choosing Sliwa.
Based on the results from the June primary and from last year’s presidential election, from 36% to 39% of the citizens used early voting. If that trend holds and this week’s activity remains steady, the total votes for mayor could reach 2 million for the first time since the 1960s. That is great for democracy and great for New York and also what Cuomo needs.
Lined up, there is no comparison between the seasoned Cuomo and the inexperienced Mamdani. Today, Oct. 29, is the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy from 2012, which killed dozens in the five boroughs and caused $70 billion in damage nationally. All of Manhattan below 34th St., one of the most important areas on the planet, was pitch black and without electric power. Could the young Mamdani, who has never run anything, handle that? Doubtful and not worth the risk.
Cuomo absolutely could manage another Sandy, as he showed again and again.
Frankly, Mamdani just isn’t ready for the second toughest job in America.
Beat the expectations of voter apathy, that nothing ever changes. Cuomo and Mamdani offer a stark contrast and would be very different as mayor. To us, the call is easy. But we don’t get the final say. That choice now belongs to the voters, hopefully 2 million or more of them. They are the ones who are New York. They are ones who will decide and will have to live with that decision.
Exercise your right. Use your vote, take responsibility, one person at a time.
