Unique | NYC GOP slams effort to have its voters re-enroll as Democrats for mayor’s main race

New York Metropolis Republican leaders are blasting a marketing campaign to influence celebration members to re-enroll as Democrats to vote within the main election for mayor on June 24. 

Voters have till Feb. 14 to alter their celebration standing.

“This yr, NYC will maintain a essential election to resolve who will lead our metropolis ahead, however many New Yorkers don’t notice that the election that’s nearly sure to decide on the following mayor is just not the overall 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 Occasion.

“Democratic leaders in New York Metropolis are resorting to sleight-of-hand tips to deceive New Yorkers into switching their celebration registration again to the Democratic Occasion,” Tannousis informed The Submit. “However the fact is evident: lifelong Democrats are fleeing as a result of the celebration now not stands for public security, financial prosperity, and the hardworking folks 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 town in latest 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.

“Once 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 crimson 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 should not solely viable in New York Metropolis, they’re ascendant. Fairly than losing a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} making an attempt to transform extra voters to the celebration that simply misplaced the arrogance of the American public, Be Counted NYC must be making an attempt to register extra Republicans to affix this motion.” 

In response to state Board of Elections information, 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 Occasion. The group despatched letters and textual content messages forward of the 2020 mayoral marketing campaign as properly.

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 change to the Democratic Occasion, 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 latest 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 folks 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.