NEW YORK — Democratic mayoral hopeful Eric Adams and his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa were set to barnstorm through the five boroughs on Monday in final campaign pushes before their historic general election showdown.
Adams, who’s heavily favored to win Tuesday’s election due to the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, kicked off the final day of campaigning by greeting voters outside the Parsons/Archer subway station in his native Jamaica, Queens.
After the outer-borough visit, Adams was set to head into Manhattan for a trio of get-out-the-vote rallies, culminating in a star-studded evening event in Harlem’s A. Philip Randolph Square where he’ll be joined by State Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney hopeful Alvin Bragg, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and a host of other local Democrats.
“Let’s bring it home, #TeamAdams!” the Brooklyn borough president’s mayoral campaign tweeted as the jampacked election eve festivities got underway.
Despite facing near-impossible odds in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-to-1, Sliwa also staked out plans for a busy final day on the campaign trail.
The GOP founder of the Guardian Angels, who suffered a concussion and broke his arm after a yellow cab slammed into him in Midtown on Friday, admitted he still felt a bit under the weather Monday as he held a press conference outside a Manhattan firehouse to rail against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for municipal workers.
“Not good,” he said after being asked how he’s holding up, adding that he’s on “a lot” of painkillers and feeling a bit shaky from the concussion.
Still, Sliwa planned to appear on a parade float in Manhattan later in the day with former New York Gov. George Pataki before holding get-out-the-vote rallies in Borough Park, Brooklyn and Middle Village, Queens. He was then expected to close out the day by spending a couple of hours greeting voters at L&B Spumoni Gardens, the iconic pizzeria in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood.
In between criticizing de Blasio’s vaccine mandate, Sliwa promised at the firehouse press conference that he’ll stop wearing his signature red beret if he’s elected mayor.
He also signaled that he’s aware that a Republican victory on Tuesday is highly unlikely.
“My biggest problem with Republicans is convincing them to vote because some, not all, don’t trust the process,” he said before adding of last week’s early voting numbers: “Turnout has been dismal.”
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