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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. It's coming up to ten o'clock in the morning. It's already 86 degrees, according to my app, heading for 100 by mid-afternoon. Today is the rare day when the weather forecast and the political forecast intersect and overlap. You probably know that already. It is New York primary day.

If the polls can be believed, Andrew Cuomo and his campaign really need high turnout from older voters in the Democratic mayoral primary today if he's going to have a chance to win the nomination. Of course, older voters generally considered the most likely to be discouraged by the heat. Happy primary day, everyone. On this morning's show, we will have two rounds of our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. One now and one next hour.

We will also do our usual Health & Climate Tuesdays section of the show today, how they intersect around President Trump's desire to reinvigorate the coal industry of all things, even as a New York Times article reveals the greater toll that black lung disease is taking among younger coal miners in today's generations. I don't know if we'll find any callers in our New York area-based listenership with personal experience or family experience in the coal mining industry, but we will be looking for you in about a half-hour. That's coming up.

Later, we'll have the second-to-last segment in our WNYC Centennial Series, 100 Years of 100 Things. It's number 99 for Pride Month, 100 years of the fight for LGBTQ rights. Primary day coverage, plus other things this morning. Don't forget, we'll have primary night coverage and results until ten o'clock tonight, including an hour with guests and calls that I'll be hosting in the seven o'clock hour tonight. Complete election coverage on the station through the voting and after the polls close at 9:00. We'll kick it off right now with WNYC senior political reporter Brigid Bergin and you on the phones. Hi, Brigid. You ready for your marathon shift today?

Brigid Bergin: [chuckles] I'm ready and I'm excited.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, here we go. It's our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. Who did you vote for, or who will you vote for in the Democratic primary for mayor? Electioneering welcome here. 212-433-WNYC. Now, if you're a regular listener, you might know that we've been taking calls from different groups of voters on different days recently. Early voters, late voters, what issues drive your votes? Voters who are undecided until recently.

Today, for this segment on primary day itself, we'll just let it rip. I said, "Electioneering welcome here," and I mean it. Call up and say who you're ranking for mayor. Support your candidate or support your slate. Convince any last-minute deciders to go your way, or just reflect on how you came to your choices and how hard it was for you or not, 212-433-WNYC. Of course, you can say if you decided at the last minute. Anybody is welcome, 212-433-9692. It's our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll.

We'll only bump some of you if all our lines get jammed with supporters of one candidate, because we only have 10 lines. The goal here is to have the conversation and the exchange of views, right? It's not just to let the 10 people with the fastest fingers rule the day. One more category of registered voter I'll throw in here in the invitation. If you are a registered Democrat in New York City, but you decided not to vote for mayor, you can also call in and tell us why not.

We know there actually are many people in that category, so let us know why you're not voting even if you can. You don't like any of the candidates well enough. You don't think it'll make a difference in your life or the life of the city. You were thinking of it, but now, it's just too hot. Whatever it is, it's our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll.

Who did you vote for, or who will you still vote for, or why aren't you voting in the Democratic primary for mayor? Electioneering welcome here. You can call or you can text, 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. Okay, Brigid, while the calls are coming in, the polls have been open since 6:00 AM. Any early stories that are emerging with respect to morning rush-hour turnout or the heat or any technical issues at polling places, or anything else? Have any morning news to report?

Brigid Bergin: Well, what we can report so far, as we've seen some initial numbers, about 100,000 people as of nine o'clock turned out to vote. The totals that are out there now are about 484,000 voters have checked into either early-voting sites or have gone out to vote this morning. That's the delta between early voting and the time that polls have been open today. Yes, we have heard some scattered reports of the kinds of issues that we hear on every primary day. A poll site may be open late.

Certainly, today, one of the things we're on high alert for are poll sites, that the air conditioning's broken down or fans aren't working. We've heard some reports of places where the AC wasn't there. I checked in with the board. They say the AC is there. At this point, we're walking that fine line where things seem to be relatively normal. One thing I will flag that I think is really useful for voters, especially on a day like today, the Board of Elections has on their website, a wait times map for every poll site.

Now, they've done this in the past for early-voting sites, and it gives you the green, yellow, red. Under 20 minutes is green. Yellow is 20 to 50 minutes. Red is over 50 minutes. You can enter your address, find your poll site, and it will tell you what's the wait time at your poll site. We will certainly be watching to see what this website is saying and what people are telling us is different. At this point, if you click around, there are some places where the wait time is over 50 minutes. Some parts of far out in Brooklyn, Trump Village, my colleague, Samantha Max, was clicking around. She found that. We'll be keeping an eye on that.

Brian Lehrer: Did you say over 50, 5-0, minutes?

Brigid Bergin: 5-0, yes, so that's a longer wait time, and probably a sign that there's a rush. What's interesting is the way it shows you what the wait time is for the poll site is by your election district and your assembly district. I just clicked now on Hunter College, which is in Manhattan. Three of the election districts that are part of that poll site, the wait time is under 20 minutes. One of the election districts is 20 to 50. That means a lot of voters in one part of that assembly district have showed up, so it's making the line a little bit longer for them to get their ballots. It's interesting because it's all within the same poll site.

Brian Lehrer: What happens if people want to wait till the evening when it's a little cooler, and they check those resources you were just describing, and it's a quarter to 9:00 and the polls close at 9:00, and they say, "There's a 45-minute line at your polling place," will they get locked out?

Brigid Bergin: If you are in line at 9:00, you can vote. Voters who have late shifts, who are working late, if you are in that line by nine o'clock, you should be able to vote. You should not leave the line just because it's past 9:00 PM.

Brian Lehrer: Can you talk about the "get out the vote" effort? It's always important. In a close race like the polls indicate this to be, it's even more important. Do you have reporting on how any of the campaigns are doing it, either electronically or in person?

Brigid Bergin: Yes. Well, one of the things that we have been following with these campaigns is their grassroots canvassing efforts, their "get out the vote" strategies. On Sunday night, the anti-Cuomo slate, the Working Families Party slate, held this big rally in Crown Heights in Brooklyn. One of the things that they were trying to do besides energize their supporters was sign up people for volunteer shifts for that Monday and for today.

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani held his first press event at five o'clock this morning in Astoria Park. He was up very early and will be going throughout the day. He and City Comptroller Brad Lander on the Upper West Side, I think, as we speak, at West 72nd Street, greeting voters there. They have assembled this-- I think there's no other word to describe it, but really army of volunteers who are going to be knocking on doors, trying to reach voters who have not turned out.

Some of these campaigns do have very sophisticated data operations where they can see, "This is a registered voter. This is a door we've knocked. We know this person has said they will support us, but they haven't voted. Let's give them a call. Let's knock on their door, see what they need to help get them to the poll." The Cuomo campaign on the other side has also been, I think, trying to get a "get out the vote" strategy together.

There was a call that was leaked onto X last night of him asking some of the 1199 union support to lean in hard and get their supporters out to get people to the polls. He also did a rally yesterday at the carpenters' union with some of his union support. As we've reported before, his campaign has tremendous union support. The question will really be, how deep does that support go within those organizations? Are the members as energized and willing to go out and do that work as volunteers who have signed up willingly?

Brian Lehrer: Yes, really interesting that there are really two armies of presumed volunteers out here. One is the army of mostly young, enthusiastic Mamdani supporters, as you were saying, as we've all been seeing in recent days, recent weeks even. Cuomo's institutional support, which is from the unions, and the unions traditionally are "get out the vote" machines.

It's interesting, this army of individuals versus this army of union members. You say one of the questions is whether the union leadership can actually mobilize them to get out there and canvass in that way. That's definitely one of the dynamics we'll be watching for today. All right, let's take our first set of callers in our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. Anita in Queens, you're on WNYC. Hi, Anita.

Anita: Hi, good morning. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: Good, thank you. Happy primary day.

Anita: Thank you. I voted early. Briefly, I was lured by Cuomo, frankly, and his talk about taking on Trump, because I believe it takes one to know one, but I couldn't do it at the end of the day. I live in southeast Queens, an area that typically votes for the machine. It's just lazy and tired. It's time for that machinery to give us something new and different and fiery. That's why I voted for Mamdani.

Brian Lehrer: If you're in southeast Queens, did you vote for Eric Adams for mayor four years ago?

Anita: No, I did not.

Brian Lehrer: Then I don't have a follow-up question for you on that, except--

Brigid Bergin: Can I ask one, Brian?

Brian Lehrer: Oh yes, Brigid, sure.

Brigid Bergin: Anita, you said you voted for Mamdani. Did you rank any other candidates as well, or did you--

Anita: I did. I did rank others. I ranked Landers, Adams, and maybe I think Stringer. That's as far as I went there.

Brigid Bergin: Interesting.

Brian Lehrer: Anita, thank you for starting us off. Let's go next to Jay in Woodhaven. You're on WNYC. Hi, Jay.

Jay: Hi, how are you? Can you hear me okay?

Brian Lehrer: We got you. Happy primary day.

Jay: Thank you so much, Brian. Longtime listener. I love your show. I voted for Cuomo. I actually did early voting, so I voted a couple of days ago. The reason for it is because there's no one there with the experience that he has, so running big enterprises in government. No one that has the guts, if you will, to stand up to Trump.

Brian Lehrer: Did you rank anybody in addition to Cuomo?

Jay: Yes. Oh, my goodness. I'm thinking about his name. The lady just mentioned, the last person that the lady before me, the caller before me.

Brian Lehrer: Brad Lander or Scott Stringer?

Jay: Scott Stringer. Scott Stringer, yes.

Brian Lehrer: What do you think about the Mamdani supporters who say, "He's got a lot of fire to stand up to Trump," to the point you were making about Cuomo?

Jay: Well, I think the guy, Mamdani, he's got a lot of potential, but he just does not have the experience yet. He definitely will be somebody to reckon with in the future, but he's just not there yet.

Brian Lehrer: Jay, thank you very much. We're going to go next to Cheryl in Brooklyn. Cheryl, you're on our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. Hi, Cheryl.

Cheryl: Hi. Good morning. Thank you for taking my call.

Brian Lehrer: How are you voting?

Cheryl: I voted already. I voted early and in order, I think, if I remember more correctly. Lander, Mamdani, Myrie, Blake, and Adams. I told your screener, if there was a way that I could have negatively ranked Cuomo, I would have done that.

Brian Lehrer: [laughs] Why?

Cheryl: Well, I've been hoping to see Lander as the mayor for years now. I live in his former city council district. I was not a fan of his when he first got elected. Over the years, he has just shown me he's got it all. He can do it. He's honest. He works hard. He's effective. He's progressive. I will say, in contrast to what your previous caller said, he really has the experience. He knows exactly how the city government works, not somebody from up in the suburbs.

Brian Lehrer: The caller was specifically talking about Mamdani. If Lander is eliminated, you said you ranked Mamdani second, he would be the nominee.

Cheryl: Yes, I did.

Brian Lehrer: Are you concerned about his experience?

Cheryl: Yes, I am, frankly, but I would do just about anything to stop Cuomo. [chuckles]

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much, Cheryl. We're going to go from Cheryl to Brooklyn, who ranked Lander first, to Betsy in Brooklyn, who ranked Lander first, but I think will make a certain contrast with Cheryl. Hey there, Betsy. You're on WNYC. Happy primary day.

Betsy: Good morning. I'm so pleased to be on your show. Yes, I ranked Brad first. I've known him for many years, starting when he became the rep for the school district of PS 10, where my daughter went to elementary school. She's now 24 years old. You can see, it's been a while. I ranked Brad first, but I did not agree with his cross-endorsement of Mamdani. I do not support Mamdani.

It's not just that he's inexperienced, but his view on spending $70 billion for housing by taking on debt, I think, would bankrupt the city. I've lived through that once. I don't want to live through it again. I really am not happy with the groups that are criticizing him because of his views on Palestine. I think that has no business being part of a New York City mayor's job or campaign.

Brian Lehrer: If you ranked Lander first and you're a "never Mamdani" voter, did you rank Cuomo at all?

Betsy: I did. I wasn't going to, and then my husband pointed out, he said, "Whoever wins a Democratic primary is going to have a huge advantage." He said, "At the end of the day, you know that both Mamdani and Cuomo are going to be on the ballot. Who would you prefer?" Even though I really dislike Cuomo and I didn't want to put him on because I think there's a lot of people who have no chance of winning, but I'd be happy to put as a choice. In the end, I held my nose, and I put Cuomo number five.

Brian Lehrer: Betsy, thank you for your call. Brigid Bergin, a very interesting set of callers there, including the last two, who both ranked Brad Lander first, but one of them was a "never Mamdani" caller there at the end. The one before was a "never Cuomo" voter. It shows the kind of-- I don't know if "strange bedfellows" is exactly the word, but the kind of mixing and matching that can take place in ranked-choice voting.

Brigid Bergin: Absolutely. Brian, I was listening into an X Spaces call last night, where a bunch of people, my election nerd crowd were all thinking through the numbers. One individual in particular, Michael Lang, who's just done tremendous work throughout this election season, he gets really down into the numbers. They were very, very focused on where would Lander voters break, and how could that influence the election?

If the Lander voters broke more towards Cuomo by whatever margin, or if the margin they broke towards Mamdani was under a certain margin, how that could influence the race. I think we started hearing that in those callers. It will be definitely something I'll be paying attention to tonight as we start to see how the numbers come in and how close the margins are in general. I think we know that there will likely not be a winner tonight because you can't win before in a ranked-choice scenario unless you have more than 50% of the vote.

Given that there are 11 candidates, it's very unlikely that we will see that. If there is a candidate who is leading by, say, 10 points, I think that'll make it very hard for any other candidate to overtake them. If the candidate's lead is only, say, three points or five points, then things are going to be much more interesting. Given the polling that we've seen in this race, the tightening that we've seen between the top two candidates, there is a chance that this could be very close.

Brian Lehrer: A chance, and we've talked about this before, that for Lander voters, in particular, if the polls are accurate and Lander's going to come in third, meaning he's the last one eliminated, and then the ranking of those voters who voted Lander first then get included. When you vote Lander first, whether you vote Mamdani below him or Cuomo below him, really is going to matter to the outcome a lot.

Brigid Bergin: Absolutely.

Brian Lehrer: That's just something for Lander voters to keep in mind, whether you're a "never Cuomo," "never Mamdani," or just prefer one over the other. All right, we're going to take a break, and when we come back-- Oh, you can throw in one other thing before the break.

Brigid Bergin: Yes, I just want to mention the fact, I was speaking with some of Lander's campaign on Sunday. I think that the sense that he is projecting-- I think he's out there with Mamdani today on the Upper West Side right now. They were on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. I think you are seeing in the Lander campaign and in Brad Lander specifically, this real commitment to this slate. They signed up for supporting each other in this ranked-choice voting scenario.

Last week was probably the best week Lander had of the entire cycle. He completely owned the news on the day that he was arrested by and taken into custody by law enforcement at immigration court. He had a great final debate. I think they're really feeling like they've done everything they can. They have ended really strong. They picked up that support from The New York Times editorial panel. It will be really interesting to see how well he does. As you said, I think whoever people rank as the number two for Lander will be hugely important to this race. Also, whoever people rank Adrienne Adams for their number twos, I think, will be very influential.

Brian Lehrer: When we come back from a break, our Brittany Kriegstein will join us from a polling place with a report on how things are going. She's been visiting several polling places already this morning in Brooklyn, so we'll hear from her. We'll continue with Brigid. We'll take more of your calls and some of your texts in our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. Stay tuned.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC with our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll for mayor, 212-433-WNYC, call or text with our senior political reporter Brigid Bergin. Also, joining us for a couple of minutes is WNYC and Gothamist breaking news reporter Brittany Kriegstein. She's been out at polling places in Brooklyn this morning. Hey, Brittany, can you hear us?

Brittany Kriegstein: Yes, I can. Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: I can. Where have you been so far, and where are you now?

Brittany Kriegstein: Had a nice little tour of Brooklyn. I've been at Brooklyn Borough Hall. I've been at a middle school in Crown Heights. I went to another school in East Flatbush. Now, I'm at a community center in Borough Park.

Brian Lehrer: How hot is it in these polling sites, and how hot is it for you running from place to place?

Brittany Kriegstein: Well, it's funny you say that. I actually love this weather, strangely enough, but it seems like people are keeping cool inside their polling places.

Brian Lehrer: You and me, by the way. We're the only two people in the city. Anyway, go ahead.

Brittany Kriegstein: Yes, someone understands me. Outside all of these polling places, I have found some shady spots. It doesn't seem to be deterring anybody. It's still pretty busy out here. People are enthusiastic about coming in. They're trying to. They told me that they've been encouraging their friends and co-workers, and family members to come in to vote, so really a lot of excitement out here.

Brian Lehrer: By the way, my app says 92 degrees already at 10:27 in the morning. Any issues you've seen at polling sites, heat-related, or any other kind?

Brittany Kriegstein: I actually haven't, no. People seem like things are going smoothly. They're in, they're out. Poll workers seem to not be too overwhelmed, so no issues here, but not sure about the other boroughs.

Brian Lehrer: You've been asking voters who they're ranking. Any interesting stories or trends so far?

Brittany Kriegstein: That's right. Most people I've spoken to have said that they're ranking Cuomo. I've had a couple say Mamdani first, the issues that they care about, including sanctuary city policies and affordable housing, and things like that. One really interesting thing I've noted is that a couple of voters have said that they have ranked both Cuomo and Mamdani, so that's definitely an interesting discussion point. Those are obviously the two frontrunners, but very, very different candidates. As you've been talking about, they really represent different issues, and it's hard to say what could happen later on.

Brian Lehrer: Not just different as candidates, but so much of the campaigns from both ends has been a "stop the other guy" campaign, "Reject Cuomo," or "Reject Mamdani." What do these voters who are ranking both tell you about why, if you got that far with them?

Brittany Kriegstein: Right. They're saying some different things. Obviously, the issues are one thing, but sometimes some of them are saying that they're looking for a candidate with experience, but they're also looking for a change. Cuomo is obviously the experienced candidate. I think a lot of older voters are saying that they identify more with him, but then Mamdani is that change candidate. It's almost like, "Well, if we can't have the experience, then maybe we can have something really different," and vice versa. That's basically how they're summing it up.

Brian Lehrer: Do you think those Mamdani-Cuomo or Cuomo-Mamdani voters know how ranked-choice voting works in most of these cases, or that they can leave one or the other off their ballot entirely if they choose?

Brittany Kriegstein: It's a great question. It's unclear to me if people fully understand how it works. I've asked people in different ways how they've ranked the candidates. Some of them look at me a little bit quizzically, "I don't know exactly what that means in terms of how much weight they're giving each of these positions." Obviously, there are some people who understand it really well. They have all of their choices planned out. This system can be a little tricky, I think, especially for people who are not native English speakers. I've definitely tried to speak to several who spoke neither English nor Spanish, and so I just wonder how they're figuring this out.

Brian Lehrer: Where else you going today, Britt?

Brittany Kriegstein: We'll see. Depends on where I'm needed. If there are any issues that pop up, obviously, I'll be on the scene. For now, probably to take a cool drink and just basically sum up what's been happening so far.

Brian Lehrer: WNYC and Gothamist breaking news reporter Brittany Kriegstein enjoying the heat and out there on the trail. Thanks for giving us a few minutes, Britt.

Brittany Kriegstein: That's right. Thank you so much, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: Back to some callers in our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. Ellen in Riverdale, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ellen.

Ellen: Hi, Brian. I am a longtime listener and a longtime subscriber. The first thing I said to your screener is that I'm 83, and I am a Mamdani supporter. One thing I did not mention to her, by the way, about why I am a "never Cuomo" supporter is his terrible record with CUNY. I am still teaching at Brooklyn College. I remember all too well, because my short-term memory is good, how he treated CUNY. Three really, really terrible budgets that he gave CUNY. He always said that he was for CUNY.

He treated the economic engine of New York City, City University of New York, really, really badly. I am supporting Mamdani, Lander, Stringer, Adams, and Myrie, not only because I'm a "never Cuomo" supporter, but because I believe in a progressive New York City that will do good for working-class people. I think that the argument that Mamdani does not have the experience doesn't wash because he's a very smart guy. He's going to get very, very smart people to help him in the administration of the city, including, I hope, Brad Lander.

Brian Lehrer: Ellen, thank you very much for your call. From Ellen in Riverdale, who teaches at Brooklyn College, to Nicole in Brooklyn. Hi, Nicole. You're on WNYC. Happy primary day.

Nicole: Hi, Brian. Huge fan. I just wanted to say that I wanted to recognize that it's a challenging political environment all around, and that there's no perfect candidate right now. For me, I'm voting for Cuomo because of the quality-of-life issue we're experiencing here in New York City. I have a 9 and a 13-year-old. Looking at the city through their eyes, it's pretty disheartening to me. I've been here for over 27 years. I've never seen the subways the way they are.

As a New Yorker, you start to give your kids some freedom. You're worried about them like looking at people defecating on the platforms or getting stabbed or getting pushed in front of a train. I don't see this as a huge issue for any of your callers, and I can't understand why. I think Cuomo, out of all the candidates, although not the perfect candidate out of all of them in this scenario where New York City is, is probably the most qualified to deal with this.

I understand there's a big push around Mamdani, but he doesn't have the experience. You can't vote for someone who you think is going to hire quality people like your last caller said. You want somebody who actually has that experience and can deal with the real issues that we're facing in New York City right now. I think young people might not understand what it's like to have young kids going out into New York City on their own, but it could be really dangerous if we vote for somebody who doesn't have experience with working in a big city environment.

Brian Lehrer: Nicole, thank you very much. Brigid Bergin, an interesting contrast between the last two callers. In a way, you can hear that as the Mamdani versus Cuomo, Cuomo versus Mamdani campaign as being campaigns of hope versus fear. That's not to say one is better than the other. You can have hope that's unrealistic and needs to be tempered by some more caution, or you can have a campaign of fear, which is trying to just play on people's fears. They call that demagoguery. I'm not endorsing either. I'm just saying it sounds like, on one level, it's a campaign of hope versus a campaign of fear. People have to figure out which is more realistic to solve their problems.

Brigid Bergin: Yes, it is really striking. I think it, in some ways, sums up the way the candidates have been presenting themselves. From the moment the former governor got into the race, he has been repeatedly talking about a city in crisis. The city that he describes was very much like that last caller, one where things feel out of control. That sense of unease that she was describing was very much the way he has described it. I think it explains to me very clearly why she is supporting him. I have to say, did you recall where she was calling from?

Brian Lehrer: Which one? The last caller?

Brigid Bergin: The last caller.

Brian Lehrer: She just said Brooklyn.

Brigid Bergin: She said Brooklyn, okay, because I think, contrasting that to your point, yes, absolutely, Mamdani has been running a campaign that's more focused on how to inspire voters and inspire them to experience a different kind of New York City. It's appealing to voters who maybe, as we've seen in some of this early-voting data, are probably slightly younger and are starting to butt up against some of the quality-of-life issues that are really rooted in affordability that might be slightly different than what that last caller is experiencing, where maybe it's not as much affordability, but it is a safety issue. Again, we're not trying to say one issue is more important than the other, but it does help you understand how these voters are making up their minds.

Brian Lehrer: Interesting set of callers and texters that we're hearing from are neither Cuomo nor Mamdani voters. Here's a text. "I'm a senior who voted from here in Forest Hills by mail for, number one, Adrienne Adams as the most experienced in New York City administration. Number two, Brad Lander, and more, based on what they said in the debate, who weren't Cuomo or Mamdani or endorsing them."

Another one, Alex from Brooklyn. "I haven't heard from anyone like me who didn't rank either Cuomo or Mamdani. I'm very disappointed that ranked-choice voting hasn't given us the opportunity to get a reasonable compromise candidate. Instead, it appears we will get one of the two most polarizing options. I voted for Myrie, Adams, Lander, Stringer." Here's one on the phones like that. April in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, April.

April: Oh, that's me. Hold on.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, it's you. Hi.

April: Hi. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: Good. Give us your ranking.

April: Hello?

Brian Lehrer: Yes. Hi, April.

April: Scott Stringer number one. I went with Scott Stringer number one because we need somebody who understands all level of government in New York City if we really want to affect the change that people are looking for here. He's worked in the assembly. He's worked as borough president, who, by the way, as people don't know, are the keeper of the city maps.

They deal with land use in the assembly. He focused on land use and women's issues. He's also been comptroller, so he understands how money works. He gets where the laws are and how to use them to his advantage and has the relationships to change them if necessary. He's got a housing plan that's way more solid than anyone else's. I then ranked Adrienne Adams second. The last three were the three lowest polling candidates.

Brian Lehrer: What are the three lowest polling candidates? Now, you realize that by abstaining between Mamdani and Cuomo, you are leaving it to others, because it is likely to be one of the two of them who gets the nomination. You don't have to say it here, but if you actually have a preference between the two of them, if it were to come down to the two of them, then it behooves people to put one or the other on their ballot.

April: Yes, I'd say "never Cuomo," obviously. Never Cuomo and later Mandami. I love everything he stands for. I just don't think he can achieve it, even some of it. I feel like a vote for him may end up being bad for New Yorkers in the long run, should it affect future elections and people's choices. That scares me. I also don't want another four years of ineffective government.

Brian Lehrer: April, thank you very much. We're going to do two more in this set and get a closing thought from Brigid. She's going to be back again later in the show for more informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll right along. Elizabeth in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. John in Boerum Hill, stand by. You're going to be after her. Elizabeth, hi.

Elizabeth: Hi. I ranked Lander first. I'm another one who did not rank Cuomo or Mamdani. I waited till Election Day. Now, I wish I hadn't because I was sweating like crazy, but because I was just having a hard time making up my mind about that. I guess what I want to say is, well, first of all, I feel like when you keep implying everyone should put either Cuomo or Mamdani somewhere, because it's probably going to be them.

I'll just say, I teach journalism. I feel like it does become a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Also, I'm just so tired of, I don't know, our country as a whole wanting to shiny new guy versus someone with experience. It's not like, "Oh, Mamdani's the only progressive candidate." Sorry if I sound bitter, but I am a little. I feel like in previous elections, it's like, "Oh, there's always a reason not to vote for the women who were very qualified."

In this case, I started out for Adrienne Adams, but then I wasn't super impressed hearing her speak, or by her campaign. The more I read about and heard Brad Lander, I just feel like he's got all those progressive values, and he's got experience. I get it with Mamdani. Look, I just think we're being disingenuous. We don't say, "He's really good-looking." It's a virtue-signaling thing for the city. I had this moment of like, "Oh, wouldn't that be amazing to [sound cut] who represents in terms of how he looks and speaks like the exact opposite of Trump. Can you just wait a few years, people? That's how I feel about this. By the way, I'm a CUNY person, too.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. Thank you for your call. One more. John in Boerum Hill, you're on WNYC. Hi, John.

John: Hi, Brian. I just wanted to say, the "get out the vote" operation day was framed as Mamdani's left-wing volunteers versus Cuomo's union support. As a rank-and-file union member in District Council 37, the union representing city government workers, I will say that I've been doing my own canvassing for Zohran Mamdani as I suspect hundreds, if not thousands, of other union members are doing across the city today as well.

To explain this a little bit, in the pro-Cuomo building trades, members have to pay fines if they don't show up for events. They're effectively coerced in the canvassing. Meanwhile, unions like 1199SEIU are facing backlash from their members. Hundreds have signed a petition who are opposed to the Cuomo endorsements. I'm just saying that union leadership needs to start recognizing union democracy and the members who don't want Cuomo, a governor who vowed to go to war with unions in 2010, who was funded by the same billionaires and big businesses that union bust and attack organized labor.

Rank-and-file members like myself were supporting Zohran Mamdani because he stands for the working-class, because he's put his life on the line for working-class cab drivers during his hunger strike, because his policy and agenda not only would make New York City affordable for the average worker like myself, but as Zohran said, that the path to make New York City affordable can only be traveled hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder with organized labor.

Brian Lehrer: John, I'm hearing everything that you're saying, and I'm curious about one thing. As a follow-up, what do you do as a canvasser?

John: Well, I go around. I make sure that people can see me, that I'm visibly supporting Zohran Mamdani, that I'm wearing the pin, I'm holding the poster, I'm handing out the palm cards. If someone is unsure, if someone says, "I'm thinking about Zohran," then I'm going to have a conversation with them. This is the other thing. I'm a volunteer. I'm not paid to do any of this. I'm doing this because I'm passionate, and I want to convince people. I'm not going to hand them a card and let them throw it out in the trash later down the line.

Brigid Bergin: John, can I--

Brian Lehrer: In public places-- Oh, Brigid, go ahead.

Brigid Bergin: John, I just was wondering, too, because DC 37 endorsed a slate, right? Mamdani is on that slate, but Adrienne Adams got the top endorsement, correct?

John: That is correct. Ultimately, the city recently broke a story saying that DC 37 was contributing to an independent expenditure committee that is also receiving a ton of money from DoorDash as well. This makes me deeply uncomfortable with what my own union is doing.

Brian Lehrer: Meaning for Cuomo?

John: No, for Adrienne Adams.

Brian Lehrer: For Adrienne Adams, okay. Go ahead.

John: Exactly. Partnering up with DoorDash, I think, is unconscionable, especially with what they're doing to the delivery drivers, the Deliveristas, the people who took care of us during the pandemic. Fundamentally, when I look at that, that's an untenable position for me. I'm going to vote my conscience. I'm also going to put my own labor towards Zohran Mamdani, a candidate who I can support without a guilty conscience.

Brian Lehrer: John, thank you for your call. Thanks to all of you who called in this set with quite an array of opinions. Brigid, last question for now, and you'll be back with us later. What do the "get out the vote" canvassers do on Election Day? John was talking about handing out palm cards and stuff like that. Sounds like that's on street corners or in shopping areas, whatever. Are there really many people at home who have candidate preferences but won't go out and vote unless somebody knocks on their door?

Brigid Bergin: I think one of the things we know that these passionate voters will likely go out no matter what, braving these brutal temperatures that only you and Britt like, but I think for some people, they do need a little nudge. It depends on the sophistication of the field and targeting operation of the campaigns. I was talking to some folks who were hearkened back to February of 2024 special election for New York 3. There was the open seat once held by George Santos. Tom Suozzi, the Democrat, was running. Mazi Pilip, the Republican, was running.

Everybody was watching it because it was really considered this bellwether for how things were going to turn out later in the year. Didn't turn out to be, but the Suozzi campaign had this very sophisticated, dedicated field operation, where they were getting their voters out not just on the special Election Day, but throughout primary day. Excuse me. Throughout early voting, they really understood the importance of getting those votes out early and then doing what they could on the special Election Day. On that special Election Day, the opposite of today, there was a snowstorm.

Brian Lehrer: [laughs]

Brigid Bergin: The Republicans who were scrambling had to hire snowplows to try and clear streets to get their voters to the polls. I think there's an echo in what we are seeing today that if there was not a real dedication by the campaigns to get their votes out early, it is going to be hard today. No matter what the operation, you either hire or have as volunteer to make up the difference.

We saw a lot of votes turn out. It may be in the realm of 50%. It may be just under that. I think canvassers will play an important role. You might see them out on the street corners. You're going to see them in subways. They may knock on your door. They may call your phone. There will be a lot of texts, but people who are working or volunteering are going to do everything they can to try to get people to the polls today.

Brian Lehrer: This primary day, it's a heat wave. That primary day, it was a snowstorm. Primary day in 2001, I don't know how many people remember this, was 9/11. 9/11 was a New York mayoral primary day. Some people had voted already, but then they canceled it and rescheduled it for a few weeks later. Sometimes, regardless of the best-laid plans, the world intrudes on Election Day one way or the other.

All right, Brigid will be back later in the show for Round 2 of our informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific primary day exit poll. At that time, she'll describe what she learned by looking at the early voting data. They haven't released the results of the nine days of early in-person voting. That'll come tonight, but they did release some geographic and demographic data, which does give us some clues. Brigid has some news on that. That's new since she was here on yesterday's show, so that's coming up. Brigid, talk to you in a little while.

Brigid Bergin: Looking forward to it.

 

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