Election day is finally here, and amid national chatter about the big blue wave, the balance of power in Congress could all come down to New York.
No pressure, right? Early voting numbers have reportedly slowed since 2025, particularly in the Commie Corridor, which saw a 34 percent drop in early voting this election, but early voting increased in majority Black districts across the city, including Central Brooklyn (a 50 percent jump) and parts of Southeast Queens. (By the way, if you live in New York City and procrastinated on voting—and who would do something like that, especially if they had to work overtime on election night, ha ha ha—here's where to find your polling site.)
Tonight, we will learn if North Country voters choose a dairy farming executive, Democrat Blake Gendebien, over a guy with an AI rap album that lobs Islamophobic slurs at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Republican Anthony Costantino. We'll find out if Republican incumbent Mike Lawler can smirk his way past Democratic candidate Cait Conley in NY-17. We'll see if Governor Kathy Hochul prevails over Bruce Blakeman, the sentient haircut slash would-be militiaman who is taking a run at Albany from Nassau County, and whose name could have hypothetically been Blake Bruceman. And although we promise we're not actually putting any money on this, we're pretty sure we'll be witnessing Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander, and various leftist candidates across the city ride the Mamdani wave to electoral victory.
But before all that happens, Hell Gate will be doing our usual live blog dance: running all around the city all day, talking to voters, catching up with candidates, and generally taking the temperature on whether New Yorkers consider this weird and wild midterm to be a referendum on Trump 2.0. (And don't forget about those ballot proposals!)
We'll be updating this post all day and into the early evening with dispatches from the team. Then, we'll keep the party going on our LIVE Hell Gate Election Night 2026 Podcast. The live pod starts at 9 p.m. on the dot on our YouTube channel and at select watch parties around the city (including the one you throw at your apartment, if you're a real fan).
Until then, keep refreshing, and we'll keep reporting.
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