New York City early voters told amNewYork Metro Tuesday that they are looking to dam the red wave before Election Day on Nov. 8.
While recent polls indicate that Governor Kathy Hochul will find herself in a tightening race with Republican candidate Lee Zeldin, voters slowly but surely heading into the polls a week early say they have other plans in mind.
Voters repeated one thing: disgust. According to many of the men and women casting their ballots who spoke with us Tuesday, the rhetoric of the MAGA Republicans since former President Donald Trump became the face of the party is spurring many New Yorkers to vote blue no matter who.
“I wanted to make sure that no Republican was voted in,” Don told amNewYork Metro while leaving a Murray Hill polling site. “I voted Democrat down the board. The recent rhetoric has completely turned me off and infuriated me. I’ll never vote for a Republican until the day I die.”
A grandfather, Don brought his grandson along with him to cast his vote in hopes instilling the importance of voting. Don said it was not always like this, however, he used to research each candidate and vote based on the individual not the party. He attributes this change to former President Trump and what he sees as a shift in party policy since the 2016 election.
“I won’t vote for a Republican no matter what they stand for,” Don added.
Crime became a major talking point leading into the gubernatorial election, with a recent increase of subway violence taking up large sections of the one and only debate last month. Yet somewhat surprisingly the voters amNewYork Metro spoke with say they are not allowing crime to sway their vote.
“This talk about crime is bullsh*t. Crime is all over the planet and it is a psychological thing,” Marcell said.
Originally hailing from Pennsylvania, Marcell has called New York City home for many years and says she believes crime is a result of economic hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So, any politician that’s talking about high crime, they’re wasting their time. You know, it’s a disrespect to the citizens when they talk about high crime because they’re saying that the voting people are so stupid, that we don’t understand what is going on. So, it’s an insult,” Marcell said.
Stephen Shore shared similar sentiments. Shore revealed that he voted early since on election day he will be out of town visiting family. Yet he also wanted to ensure his voice was heard.
“I just wanted to make sure that I can get as many Democrats voted for as possible. There’s a lot of terrifying people out there. You know, that a lot of conspiracy theories and hate speech and violence,” Shore said. “The other party seems to say things like Jesus, guns, babies and, like, that’s not a policy—that’s just an ideology.”
Originally from North Carolina, Shore shared that politics has now become a contentious topic when he visits his family. Shore says what he feels to be racism and xenophobia is a big reason why he says he voted blue this election, citing the recent treatment of migrants as an example.
And while he says he does not believe Zeldin will win the gubernatorial election, he is concerned it will be close.
“The thing that scares me is that it could be close. And because if it’s close, that means the Congress races in upstate New York and Western New York might actually flip,” Shore said. “Trump and Trumpism is not the value of the Republican Party and yet, when you ask what the Republican platform is, it’s always Trump.”
Debbie Mangual is a mother of two young women and shared that she voted down the blue line after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down in June the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling protecting abortion rights.
“I don’t like the Republicans. I like Governor Hochul because of her stance behind abortion. I believe a woman has a right to choose what happens to her body, whether it’s because she doesn’t want a child for medical reasons or she can’t afford it. After what happened with the Supreme Court, I don’t want Republicans to have any seats,” Mangual said.
