Republicans are heading to the polls in New York and nationwide to vote early in record numbers, but party honchos say there’s no time for slacking with the White House and control of the House of Representatives on the line.
“For the first time, since President Reagan, New York is possibly in play for the presidential race and will certainly determine the House Majority,” upstate New York Rep. Elise Stefanik told The Post Saturday.
“Republicans across New York and the country are voting early in historic numbers, but we must not get complacent and must keep up the momentum and continue working to turn voters out,” added the House Republican conference chairperson.
New Yorkers voting early in the Bronx on Nov. 1, 2024. Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty Images
People lined up on the sidewalk for early voting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Oct. 26, 2024. Robert Miller“I’m calling on all Republicans to ensure their family, friends, and neighbors get out to vote early in person or on Election Day.”
Through Thursday, 1,964,393 votes were cast in the Empire State– including 701,402 in NYC, according to the state Board of Elections.
This puts the state on pace to exceed early-voting totals during the last presidential election, when 2,507,345 New Yorkers voted early over nine days.
New York state is on pace to surpass the early-voting total in the 2020 election, according to the state Board of Elections. Paul Martinka
People voting early in York College in Queens on Oct. 26, 2024. Brigitte Stelzer
A line of people waiting to vote early at Frank McCourt High School on the Upper West Side on Oct. 26, 2024. Robert MillerIn the state’s battleground congressional districts, many more Republicans are voting early than in 2022, when the GOP flipped four New York seats on its way to score a slim 220-212 seat edge in the House, according to data provided to The Post by New York Republicans Saturday.
Early voting results as of Thursday show state Dems “led by Kathy Hochul are in total free fall,” and “no amount of spin can hide that,” said Alex DeGrasse, executive director of Stefanik’s campaign.
“NY Republicans are turning out in record numbers for early in-person voting, vastly outperforming our 2022 margins in every seat, some by 50%,” he said. “Long Island looks great, as does the Hudson Valley and upstate.”
As of Thursday, there were 9.24% more Republicans voting than Dems in Suffolk County’s 1st Congressional District, where Republican incumbent Nick LaLota is positioned to beat Democrat John Avlon.
In the state’s six other swing districts, which include two other Long Island seats, Dems were outvoting Republicans by anywhere from 3.04% to 16.35%.
“The GOP needs every single voter who is concerned with the direction our country is headed in under the failed leadership of Democrats in Washington and Albany to get to the polls and help Republicans over the finish line in tight races like mine that will decide control of Congress,” said Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, a Long Island Republican.
Unlike the 2020 election when Republican Donald Trump lost the presidency to Joe Biden after telling supporters not to trust the early-voting process, the ex-president is all in this time around — and urging Republicans to vote early and back his bid to return to the White House.
More than 73 million Americans had already voted as of Saturday, including in person or via mail ballots, according to data collected by the University of Florida Election Lab.
In the 26 states that provided party registration records – which didn’t include New York — 38.2% of early votes cast were by Democrats, 36% by Republicans and 25.8% by independents and members of other political parties.
The early turnout has led to Republicans breaking early voting records in swing states such as Georgia and North Carolina.






