New York Metropolis Republican leaders are blasting a marketing campaign to steer get together members to re-enroll as Democrats to vote within the main election for mayor on June 24.
Voters have till Feb. 14 to vary their get together standing.
“This 12 months, NYC will maintain a crucial election to determine who will lead our metropolis ahead, however many New Yorkers don’t notice that the election that’s nearly sure to decide on the subsequent mayor just isn’t the final election however the Democratic main on June 24, 2025,” stated a letter just lately despatched to Republican and unbiased voters by the group Be Counted NYC, headed by Lisa Blau.
One of many recipients of the letter was state Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, who additionally occurs to be chairman of the Staten Island Republican Get together.
“Democratic leaders in New York Metropolis are resorting to sleight-of-hand methods to deceive New Yorkers into switching their get together registration again to the Democratic Get together,” Tannousis advised The Submit. “However the reality is evident: lifelong Democrats are fleeing as a result of the get together not stands for public security, financial prosperity, and the hardworking individuals of this metropolis.”
He stated it’s the Democratic model that’s tarnished, not the GOP.
President Trump received the White Home and Republicans management the Home of Representatives.
The GOP, although nonetheless closely outnumbered by registration numbers in New York, have made deep inroads within the suburbs and even components of the town in current election cycles.
Critics contend it wasn’t that way back that Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg mixed received the mayoralty for 5 consecutive phrases mixed as Republicans, from 1994 to 2013.
Council Republican Minority Chief David Carr additionally urged fellow Republicans to carry agency.
“After I opined about this marketing campaign as a candidate in 2021 within the pages of [the New York Post], I urged fellow Republicans to remain the course as a result of this metropolis was poised for a purple wave. And that’s definitely come to fruition,” Carr, who represents components of Staten Island, stated.
“The unprecedented surge of GOP votes in November’s election has confirmed that Republicans usually are not solely viable in New York Metropolis, they’re ascendant. Fairly than losing a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} making an attempt to transform extra voters to the get together that simply misplaced the boldness of the American public, Be Counted NYC ought to be making an attempt to register extra Republicans to affix this motion.”
In keeping with state Board of Elections data, Blau, the spouse of Associated Corporations CEO Jeff Blau, has personally contributed greater than $573,000 to encourage Republicans and voters not registered with a celebration to re-enroll as a Democrat.
It’s the second time Blau’s Be Counted group has mounted a party-switching marketing campaign to broaden the voting pool within the Democratic Get together. The group despatched letters and textual content messages forward of the 2020 mayoral marketing campaign as nicely.
Blau declined a request for remark.
However Be Counted isn’t the one group pushing extra average to conservative Republicans and unbiased voters to re-register as Democrats earlier than the June 24 municipal main elections that embrace council races in addition to the mayoralty.
The Jewish Voters Motion Community additionally is making an attempt to get unbiased and Republican Jewish voters and others to formally swap to the Democratic Get together, to allow them to take part within the closely Democratic main races amid an area rise in antisemitism.
Whereas his group is non-partisan, Litwack, throughout a current interview, stated he needs to counter politicians who don’t take antisemitism critically or who toe the road of the lefty anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA sponsored an anti-Israel rally in Instances Sq. a day after Hamas attacked Israel and slaughtered 1,200 individuals on Oct. 7, 2023.
One of many candidates for mayor, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani of Queens, is a DSA member whose candidacy was endorsed by the DSA.
