Hochul Makes Final Campaign Push in Brooklyn Ahead of Tuesday's Election

Governor Kathy Hochul brought her closing campaign argument to Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal on Friday morning, greeting commuters and posing for photographs as she made her final push ahead of Tuesday's election. Hochul, who faces Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in the governor's race, has built her reelection bid around affordability, pointing to energy rebate checks, middle-class tax cuts, housing initiatives, and the expansion of universal child care.

Her administration is currently distributing $1 billion in energy rebate checks, with eligible households receiving between $100 and $200. One resident she met at the terminal welcomed the $200 check she had received, but told Hochul that parents of teenagers still needed more help covering clothing and food costs.

Despite a Siena poll released October 28 showing her leading Blakeman 54% to 40% among likely voters — widening her margin from nine points in September — Hochul said she was taking nothing for granted. She told reporters she was encouraged by high early voter turnout and was focused on improving her performance on Long Island, where she lost Suffolk County by roughly 17 percentage points against Republican Lee Zeldin in 2022.

Looking toward a potential second term, Hochul outlined priorities including expanding energy production, accelerating housing construction, advancing the planned Interborough Express connecting Brooklyn and Queens, and continuing to build out free child care alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani. "I don't stop until the polls close at 9 o'clock on Tuesday," she said.