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Americans go to the polls, with elections in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California
We are restarting our live coverage of US politics.
Americans are heading to the polls on Tuesday in a number of elections that will show where support for Donald Trump’s Republicans stands and whether Democrats have cause for hope.
Much attention in the US and abroad will be on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor, who is facing off against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary against Mamdani earlier this year, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
In California, voters could tear up their congressional maps to turn Republican districts into Democratic ones in an effort to counter gains the GOP is expected to make elsewhere after the party gerrymandered maps in states including Texas and Missouri.
Virginia and New Jersey will hold high-stakes gubernatorial and legislative elections that may serve as a proxy for voters’ views on the president.
We will bring you the latest news and reactions as election day unfolds.
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Former US president Barack Obama has offered to be a “sounding board” to New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani if his polling advantage turns into victory, according to reports.
Obama reportedly also praised the campaign Mamdani had run against his main independent rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa. The call was first reported by the New York Times and then confirmed to Reuters by Mamdani’s spokesperson.
“Zohran Mamdani appreciated President Obama’s words of support and their conversation on the importance of bringing a new kind of politics to our city,” Mamdani’s spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said.
Mamdani, a state assembly member, has polled well ahead of Cuomo and Sliwa before Tuesday’s general election. A recent Atlas poll estimated Mamdani (40%) had about a six-point edge over Cuomo (34%) and a 16-point advantage over Sliwa (24%).
Why might California redraw its congressional maps?
Chris Stein
Texas redrew their maps to favor Republicans at Trump’s urging, one of several states that the president has pushed to use partisan gerrymanders to help the GOP hold seats in the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections.
For various reasons, only a handful of Democratic-led states can redraw their maps to offset the expected Republican gains, with California offering the best opportunity.
Because the state has an independent redistricting commission, voters will be asked to approve proposition 50, which would enact a new map that could allow Democrats to pick up five more House seats.
Backed by governor Gavin Newsom, polls have shown the proposition with a strong lead.
Why is Zohran Mamdani such a big deal?
Chris Stein
New York City has probably the most high-profile mayor in the country, and in June, Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist, won the Democratic primary in an upset over former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Though Cuomo remains in the race as an independent, polls show Mamdani with a formidable lead, and if he wins, his brand of left-wing politics will be given a prominent platform.
Anna Betts
On Monday, the candidates for New York City mayor spent a frantic final day campaigning across the city. Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner, whose campaign has been centered on affordability, has maintained a commanding lead, with most polls showing him leading by double digits.
The 34-year-old Democratic nominee, a state assembly member from Queens, began his Monday walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise. He was joined by the New York attorney general, Letitia James; the city comptroller, Brad Lander; as well as several city and state lawmakers and throngs of supporters.
He finished the walk at city hall, where he told a news conference that “we stand on the verge of ushering in a new day for our city”, and was scheduled to join volunteers before they began a final day of canvassing in Astoria, Queens, later in the day.
Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in June’s primary, kicked off the last day of the campaign with an interview on the Spanish-language radio station La Mega before heading to a campaign stop in the Bronx. He reportedly planned to visit all five boroughs on Monday.
Running a distant third has been Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, a non-profit organization dedicated to “unarmed crime prevention”. According to social media, Sliwa spent part of Monday morning at Coney Island and was set to host a tele-rally in the evening.
Americans go to the polls, with elections in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California
We are restarting our live coverage of US politics.
Americans are heading to the polls on Tuesday in a number of elections that will show where support for Donald Trump’s Republicans stands and whether Democrats have cause for hope.
Much attention in the US and abroad will be on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor, who is facing off against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary against Mamdani earlier this year, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
In California, voters could tear up their congressional maps to turn Republican districts into Democratic ones in an effort to counter gains the GOP is expected to make elsewhere after the party gerrymandered maps in states including Texas and Missouri.
Virginia and New Jersey will hold high-stakes gubernatorial and legislative elections that may serve as a proxy for voters’ views on the president.
We will bring you the latest news and reactions as election day unfolds.
