It's almost primary day
I think we've all been a bit distracted #158
Not even this couple taking wedding photos was safe from the canvassers.
If you watch TV the old-school way, through a cable box, then you’re likely sick of the ads. “Alex Bores, bad; Alex Bores, good.” “Micah Lasher, bad! Micah Lasher good actually.” “I’m George Conway, and I filmed this ad in Washington, D.C.”
The 12th congressional district encompasses a large chunk of Manhattan — the Upper East and Upper West sides, Times Square, Central Park, Hell’s Kitchen, Union Square, Roosevelt Island, and much more. It’s the densest congressional district in the country and the third wealthiest. The four leading candidates to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler are four guys aligned on nearly every issue, but tens of millions of dollars have been spent by AI and other spending groups to try and get voters to differentiate between them.
Although the district has some of the most politically knowledgeable and educated voters in the city, most polls show the “undecideds” are still in the lead.
A lot of money has been tossed around in the race, but sometimes money can’t buy excitement.
I saw this early Saturday morning, outside The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as canvassers lined the walkway of trees trying to grab any voter as they made it to the side door entrance of their polling place.
Around 9 a.m, one of the district’s newest voters arrived to cast his ballot. He’s politically active and engaged. He talks about politics constantly, even during Knicks games! He’s even been accused of doing pseudo-political events during his day job. When asked about who he voted for, though, he seemed more interested in the congressional races uptown, in Brooklyn and in Queens.
“I’m going to be keeping my vote in this race between myself, the ballot, and that incredible pen that the Board of Elections gives to every New Yorker,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said after his vote.
“I do wish that every New Yorker had the chance to vote for Darializa Avila Chevalier, for Claire Valdez, and for Brad Lander — three congressional candidates I’m so excited to endorse.”
Mamdani may no longer be an undecided NY-12 voter, as he called himself recently, but he certainly seemed like a reluctant one.
Yes, his endorsement could have hurt a candidate in this district. He could be ultimately helping out a top political advisor, Morris Katz, who is also working on the Micah Lasher campaign, by staying out of it. He could be so unenthused by the slate that he couldn’t possibly fake it.
We’ll see Tuesday how the races shake out, and whether they’ll serve as a referendum on the mayor’s endorsement and canvassing power. I’m mostly looking forward to the political ads ending.
If you haven’t voted yet, here’s some coverage —
Early voting check-ins by the numbers. A guide to the top house races. A cheat sheet to the PACs spending big in the races.
Other interesting stories
My colleague Jose has been all over the cabbie whose car was destroyed during Knicks celebrations. [THE CITY REPORTER]
Heat killed 21 New Yorkers last year, the highest in a decade [TCR]
The keys to the city given to the Knicks are a new design [TCR]
Mamdani visits a shelter to watch the World Cup, but there are major issues [TCR]
LISTEN
My FAQ co-hosts were off last Monday and thankfully my friend and colleague Rachel joined for the gab. I then interviewed Janet Fash about her upcoming memoir, “Lifeguard: A Love Story.” [FAQ]
I spoke about some of these races on this podcast from The Economist.
I watched the Knicks parade from City Hall, and plan on sharing more photos once my film is properly developed. Hoping for some gems. Thanks for reading!