Election 2025 dwell updates: Mamdani and Cuomo face off in NYC as New Jersey, Virginia and California vote
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race, is facing off against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, on Election Day.
Voters will also pick a new governor in New Jersey and Virginia and decide on a ballot measure in California to redraw its congressional district maps.
Nearly 1.5 million people had cast their ballots in New York City by 3 p.m. Tuesday – with hours more to go before the polls close – but already far outstripping the 1.1 million who voted in the 2021 election.
New Yorkers can continue to vote until 9 p.m. ET when polls close. In other states where elections were taking place, polls close in Virginia at 7 p.m. ET, in New Jersey at 8 p.m. ET, in California at 8 p.m. PT and in Texas at 7 p.m. local time.
President Donald Trump has baselessly claimed voting in California was “rigged.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom dismissed Trump’s claims as “the ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.”
What races to watch this Election Day
There are several high-profile races to look out for as we head into election day.
New York City’s mayoral race
- Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is facing off against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
- Mamdani is leading in the polls with 43.9 percent of voter support in a new Atlas Intel poll. Cuomo is trailing with 39.4 percent, followed by Sliwa with 15.5 percent.
- Polls will close at 9 p.m. ET. Voters who are in line when the polls close will be allowed to cast a ballot. Election results could be released by 10 p.m. ET, Fox 5 NY reports.
Virginia’s gubernatorial race
- Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, is running against former Democratic congresswoman Abigail Spanberger in the governor’s race.
- Spanberger is leading in the polls with 54 percent of voter support in a new Research Co. poll, compared to Earle-Sears’ 46 percent.
- Polls will close at 7 p.m. ET. Voters who are in line when the polls close will be allowed to cast a ballot. Election results are expected shortly after polls close.
New Jersey’s gubernatorial race
- Former state legislator Jack Ciattarelli is the Republican choice in New Jersey, up against Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill.
- New Jersey’s gubernatorial race is much closer than Virginia’s. In the same Research Co. poll, Sherrill leads Ciattarelli by just three percentage points, 51 to 48 percent.
- Polls will close at 8 p.m. ET. Voters who are in line when the polls close will be allowed to cast a ballot. Election results could be released by 10 p.m. ET, per Fox 5 NY.
California’s ballot measure
- Californians will be voting on whether to approve new congressional maps as Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom pushes for redistricting in response to Texas’ own redistricting efforts in favor of Republicans.
- Polls will close at 8 p.m. PT. Voters who are in line when the polls close will be allowed to cast a ballot. Election results could be released by the end of the night, MSNBC reports.
Watch: Alex Padilla announces he will not run for governor in 2026
California Senator Alex Padilla announced Tuesday he will not run for governor in 2026.
“I choose not just to stay in the Senate; I choose to stay in this fight,” Padilla told reporters.
From wannabe rapper to future mayor? The many lives of Zohran Mamdani
It’s Election Day, and many eyes are focused on the New York City mayoral race, where 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani is poised to take the helm of the nation’s most populous city.
The Democratic candidate — a Uganda-born, Manhattan-raised state assemblyman and Democratic socialist — rose to prominence through a grassroots campaign relentlessly focused on the high cost of living. He has vowed to “transform the most expensive city in the United States of America into one that’s affordable to each and every person who calls it home.”
His sudden ascent caught many by surprise. The son of immigrants, he spent his formative years rapping, playing cricket and attending New York public schools — where he made his first, albeit unsuccessful, foray into politics. Later, he attended a prestigious university in New England before working as a housing counselor.
For the past four years, he has represented parts of Queens in Albany, where he has positioned himself as a staunch advocate for the working class.
Read more from Brendan Rascius:
Mamdani throws support behind housing-related proposals in New York
Besides choosing their next mayor, New Yorkers will be voting on four major housing-related proposals intended to address the city’s affordable housing crisis — a key pillar of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s campaign.
The measures, which were developed under Mayor Eric Adams’s administration, would shift power away from the New York City Council, dramatically changing the balance of power when it comes to land use and development issues by elbowing out neighborhood decision-making and concentrating more authority in the mayor’s office.
The city council — warning that a concentration of power in the mayor’s office would be a disaster under a mayor who is bad on housing issues — has called on New Yorkers to vote against them.
Mamdani’s campaign, until today, has kept quiet about how he planned to vote for them. On Election Day, he voted in favor.
“I think we need to urgently build more housing… across the five boroughs,” he said. “And we also need to ensure that that housing is high quality, creating high-quality union jobs.”
Opposition from city council “is driven by a commitment to their communities and a deep concern about investment in those communities,” he said. “I share the commitment to that investment.”
Chuck Schumer refuses to say he who voted for
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has refused to say who he voted for in New York City’s mayoral race.
“Look, I voted and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday, per NBC News.
Schumer has not endorsed Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani or former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have endorsed Mamdani.
In photos: Virginians cast their ballots before polls close at 7 p.m. ET
Trump threatens ‘legal and criminal review’ of voting if Newsom’s Democratic redistricting measure wins in Californi
With hours to go until polls close on California’s House redistricting ballot initiative, President Donald Trump and his aides are already attempting to undermine the result with seemingly unfounded claims of widespread fraud.
The president took to Truth Social just hours after polls opened across the Golden State to claim that the “unconstitutional” vote on whether to temporarily adopt a congressional district map to counter GOP-led redistricting efforts in Texas is “a giant scam” because “the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED.”
Trump then added: “All “Mail-In” Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are “Shut Out,” is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!”
Andrew Feinberg has the story.
WATCH: 91-year-old Mamdani voter goes viral on CNN interview
NYC votes tally: How many ballots have been cast in the high-stakes mayoral race?
More than 735,000 people cast their ballots in New York City’s mayoral race during the nine days of early voting.
As of 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, more than 1.4 million people have voted, according to the NYC Board of Elections.
Ballots are still being cast. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
Source: independent.co.uk
