LIVE: 2026 Midterms: New York and Florida Election Updates

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will campaign for Gov. Kathy Hochul for the first time on Friday afternoon, greeting voters with her in Brooklyn, her campaign confirmed Thursday, the New York Post reported. The Post said it will be the first time Mamdani has campaigned outright for Hochul, who faces Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Nov. 3. The two have appeared together at official news conferences, and Mamdani has released videos attacking Blakeman. In a new ad released Thursday with Mamdani, Hochul points to the roughly $2 billion she secured for New York City to expand 3-K seats and for a 2-K pilot program, saying, “As New York’s first mom — and grandmother — governor, childcare is personal to me” (New York Post).

On Long Island, the Young Israel of West Hempstead, an Orthodox congregation, told members that a passing motorist saw someone trying to set fire to the synagogue at about 1 a.m. Thursday and called police, who arrested the suspect at the scene, JNS reported. According to the synagogue’s letter, the person struck the entrance glass with a bat, but the glass held; the person then brought a burning lawn sign to the entrance and tried to start a fire, which “went out on its own.” The synagogue said it is in contact with the police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. JNS reported that a Nassau County police spokeswoman declined to confirm the incident and said County Executive Blakeman had issued a statement, but a spokeswoman in Blakeman’s office told JNS, “We did not see any statement being released.” JNS noted that Blakeman has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that Hochul is not doing enough to fight antisemitism.

Early voting in New York runs from Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1, with hours that vary by county, and New Jersey’s early voting period is the same, WABC-TV reported. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

In Florida, Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds’ campaign released two television ads this week featuring his mother, Meredith Brown, a Brooklyn educator who raised him and his two siblings on her own. The second ad closes with her saying, “Vote for my son, Byron Donalds,” Florida’s Voice reported. The Republican Party of Florida released a separate ad, “David Jolly: Radical Agenda,” which shows the Democratic nominee saying, “Republicans might call that socialism, but I don’t care,” and claims his agenda would raise property taxes and add a $1,000 “hurricane tax” on property insurance. In the Senate race, the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorsed Sen. Ashley Moody. Chamber president and CEO Julio Fuentes said, “A lot of our members didn’t learn about socialism from a textbook. They lived it” (Florida’s Voice).

Bukharian angle: Early voting opens Saturday across New York State, including in Queens, home to the Bukharian community of Forest Hills and Rego Park. In a non-election Forest Hills story, Gothamist and the New York Post reported that Forest Hills Stadium settled its long legal fight with the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation. The stadium may host up to 28 concerts a season through 2040 under a 10 p.m. curfew for amplified sound, and will make a one-time $275,000 payment plus per-show payments to the neighborhood group. BJ Post found no new developments since the last update in the Queens races it is following or in South Florida races.

Sources: New York Post on Mamdani and Hochul ; JNS on the West Hempstead synagogue ; WABC-TV on early voting ; Florida’s Voice on the Donalds and RPOF ads ; Florida’s Voice on the Moody endorsement ; Gothamist on the Forest Hills Stadium deal ; New York Post on the Forest Hills Stadium deal

A federal judge on Wednesday night blocked the Department of Homeland Security from conducting election-related field operations in nine states, including New York, until the polls close on Election Day, the Florida Phoenix reported for States Newsroom. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California, an appointee of President Joe Biden, acted after voting-rights advocates alleged that armed agents were being sent to homes to question residents about their voter status. The order also covers California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin, and the judge paused it until Friday, presumably to allow an appeal. She wrote that the evidence leads to an “objectively reasonable fear of law enforcement entanglements that intimidates citizens from urging or aiding others in exercising their right to vote.” The suit was brought by San Francisco, Santa Clara, the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United and the Voto Latino Foundation. Justice Department lawyers had argued in an earlier filing that “enjoining the government from even investigating such criminal violations would damage the public interest,” and Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment (Florida Phoenix).

Thursday is the last day for Florida voters to request that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to them. Under state rules, the deadline is 5 p.m. on the 12th day before the election, and a returned ballot must be received by the county Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. local time on Election Day, Nov. 3, regardless of postmark, according to the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections.

On a Zoom call with reporters Thursday, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called President Donald Trump’s Friday rally for gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds a “last-ditch effort to save Florida Republicans’ flailing campaigns,” Florida Politics reported. “Even when Byron Donalds tried to distance himself from Trump by scrubbing the president from his website, he went running back into daddy’s arms within hours. There is no hiding from this presidency,” she said. Fried said visits by former President Bill Clinton for David Jolly and by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Senate nominee Angie Nixon showed Democratic momentum. Trump speaks Friday afternoon at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Alico Arena in Fort Myers (Florida Politics).

In the Senate race, New Deal for All, a super PAC formed this month by Jacksonville trial lawyer Steve Pajcic, released a 30-second ad in which Jeffrey Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda says, “Senator Ashley Moody cast a deciding vote to protect the man who abused me.” Florida Politics reported that the ad refers to a Sept. 10, 2025, Senate vote of 51–49 to table an amendment directing the release of the Justice Department’s Epstein records, in which Moody voted to table, and noted that the Senate later passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by unanimous consent. Moody’s campaign did not respond to MS NOW’s request for comment. In the 22nd Congressional District, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will campaign Monday in Plantation with Democratic nominee Pia Dandiya, who faces Republican Casey Askar, Florida Politics reported.

Bukharian angle: The injunction covers New York, home to the Bukharian community of Queens, although the order is on hold until Friday and may be appealed. Early voting in New York City begins Saturday, Oct. 24, and Florida voters, including Bukharian families in South Florida, have until 5 p.m. today to ask their county Supervisor of Elections to mail them a ballot. BJ Post found no new developments since the morning update in the Queens races it is following.

Sources: Florida Phoenix on the DHS injunction ; Florida Division of Elections on vote-by-mail deadlines ; Florida Politics on Nikki Fried ; Florida Politics on the New Deal for All ad ; Florida Politics on Buttigieg and Dandiya

Florida voters had cast 1,682,655 ballots for the Nov. 3 general election as of the state's 8:05 a.m. Thursday compilation, which reflects county reports through Wednesday, according to the Florida Division of Elections. That includes 1,130,457 returned vote-by-mail ballots and 552,198 early in-person votes. Registered Democrats have cast 695,668 ballots and Republicans 640,929, a Democratic edge of 54,739, with 305,262 from voters with no party affiliation and 40,796 from minor parties. Democrats lead in returned mail ballots, 484,785 to 405,970, while Republicans lead in early in-person voting, 234,959 to 210,883. Another 1,311,211 mail ballots have been sent out but not yet returned (Florida Division of Elections).

Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign announced that she raised more than $4.2 million in the October filing period, including $1 million for her reelection campaign and more than $3 million for the New York State Democratic Party. The campaign said Friends for Kathy Hochul ended the period with more than $12.3 million cash on hand and the state party with $9.5 million, for a combined $22 million, and that it drew a record 9,959 individual donors. "While Bruce Blakeman is running low on cash and reasons to elect him, Governor Hochul has equipped Democrats to blanket voters' screens, doors, and mailboxes," campaign manager Preston Elliott said. The figures are the campaign's own; BJ Post has not yet seen the Blakeman campaign's figures for this period (Friends for Kathy Hochul, via The Wellsville Sun).

Early voting in New York City runs from Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1, and polls are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first day, amNY reported in its voter guide published Thursday. Oct. 24 is also the deadline to register and to apply online or by mail for a mail-in or absentee ballot. A voter's early voting site may be different from the Election Day poll site. On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (amNY).

On the Queens ballot, the guide lists Rep. Grace Meng (D) against Republican-Conservative Joseph Chou in NY-6 (central and northern Queens), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) against Republican-Conservative Michael LiPetri in NY-3, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D) against George Marsh (Republican/Queens United) in NY-5, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democratic/Working Families) against Republican-Conservative Diamant Hysenaj in NY-14. At the top of the ticket, Hochul's running mate is former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams of Queens, and Blakeman's is Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood (amNY).

Bukharian angle: BJ Post found no new campaign news this morning from Assembly District 28 or the Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens area, and no new statewide New York poll since Wednesday's Quinnipiac survey. Election Day in New York and Florida is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and there are no results yet (BJ Post).

Sources: Florida Division of Elections (https://countyfilesvbm-ev.floridados.gov/VoteByMailEarlyVotingReports/PublicStats); The Wellsville Sun (https://wellsvillesun.com/blog/2026/10/22/gov-hochul-raises-more-than-4-2m-in-october-reporting-period-ny-dems-have-record-22m-cash-on-hand/); amNY (https://www.amny.com/news/early-voting-guide-nyc-2026-election/)

Updated 6:30 AM ET, Oct 22, 2026

- Lawsuit dropped: The Republican Party of Florida has voluntarily dismissed, without prejudice, its lawsuit seeking to pull a Florida Democratic Party TV ad about the Hope Florida grand jury report, CBS News Miami reported. The notice was filed late Wednesday afternoon in the Tenth Judicial Circuit. The notice said the party was dismissing the case "so that the work of the State Attorneys can continue without distraction." The move came after a judge refused to order the ad off the air without hearing from Democrats. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried responded, “Well, that didn't take long.”

- New Democratic ad: Florida Politics' Thursday "Sunburn" newsletter reports that Democrats are launching a new Hope Florida ad, "It Was Your Money." The ad traces how $10 million from a Medicaid settlement went to political committees, which Democrats tie to Attorney General James Uthmeier with help from Sen. Ashley Moody. It runs in English and Spanish on digital platforms in targeted congressional districts. Uthmeier maintains the arrangement was legal.

- GOP ad on Jolly: The Republican Party of Florida released an ad, "David Jolly: Don't Care," built around a line from the Democratic governor nominee: "Republicans might call that socialism, but I don't care." The ad says Jolly's agenda would raise property taxes and add a "$1,000 hurricane tax" on property insurance. Donalds campaign spokesman Gates McGavick said, “Byron Donalds will continue Governor DeSantis's policies, cut taxes, and bring insurance costs down.”

- On the trail today: Republican Byron Donalds' "Defending the Florida Dream" bus tour has three stops Thursday: Sarasota at 8:30 a.m. with Uthmeier, Trinity at noon with Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and CFO Blaise Ingoglia, and Bartow at 3:30 p.m. with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Fried has a call with reporters scheduled for 11 a.m. ahead of President Trump's rally for Donalds in Fort Myers on Friday, Oct. 23. Trump is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m.

- The rest of the field: WUSF reports that six other candidates for governor are on the Nov. 3 ballot besides Donalds and Jolly. They are Libertarian Scott Jewett and no-party candidates Frank Russo, Charles Burkett (former Surfside mayor), Dean Abrams, Jeff Datto and Moliere "Moe" Dimanche.

- New York: No new poll or major development in the governor's race or the Queens congressional races has been published since our last update.

Sources: CBS News Miami (cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-gop-drops-lawsuit-democrats-tv-ads-hope-florida-report/); Florida Politics (floridapolitics.com/archives/825970-sunburn-the-morning-read-of-whats-hot-in-florida-politics-10-22-26/); Florida Phoenix via Islander News (islandernews.com/news/florida/early-voting-starts-as-trump-clinton-join-florida-campaign-trail/article_8c4de5e9-3f1b-4c1f-b2ba-18cd44506317.html); WUSF (wusf.org/politics-issues/2026-10-22/donalds-jolly-not-only-candidates-florida-governor-rest-of-field)

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said Wednesday that it will stop endorsing candidates and making direct political action committee donations to them, JNS reported. AIPAC said it will continue its super PAC, the United Democracy Project, which can take unlimited contributions and make independent expenditures, and will no longer raise money that it forwards to candidates’ campaign committees or list endorsed candidates on its website. “Our mission and strategy remain the same,” spokeswoman Daryn Sousa told JNS. “AIPAC members gave more than $90 million directly to candidates this cycle, and that organized, direct giving from our members will continue and increase.” In a letter to members obtained by JNS, AIPAC’s leaders wrote, “Endorsements, direct PAC contributions and earmarking will no longer be part of our approach, so we can expand individual giving and utilize new tools to help our friends win.” The letter said AIPAC had helped 290 pro-Israel candidates win while defeating 29 critics of Israel. JNS noted that many Democratic candidates stopped accepting AIPAC contributions during the 2026 primaries after opponents made the group a campaign issue.

Bukharian angle: BJ Post found no new campaign news overnight from Assembly District 28 or the Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens area, and no new statewide poll after Wednesday’s Quinnipiac survey. Early voting in New York begins Saturday, Oct. 24. Election Day in New York and Florida is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and there are no results yet.

Sources: JNS on AIPAC’s new approach

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, is asking supporters to help find as many as 80,000 “inactive” New York City voters through a “Project Reactivation NYC” program, the New York Post reported Wednesday evening. “These voters are at risk of being purged from the voter file. In New York City alone, there are over 80,000 inactive voters,” her team wrote to supporters, adding, “The pathway to win back the House is increasingly proving to be through New York State.” Her campaign is holding a training session Monday. The city Board of Elections said there are 446,479 inactive voters on the city’s rolls. A voter becomes inactive after not voting in two consecutive federal elections or not responding to a board notice about an address change. “This does not prevent you from voting. Your name will still appear in the poll pads and you could still vote on the machines,” board spokesman Vincent Ignizio said, adding that inactive voters who miss two more consecutive federal elections are removed from the rolls. A voter-data consultant told the Post that in most cases inactive voters have moved or died.

In the governor’s race, Republican Bruce Blakeman on Wednesday received endorsements from several court officers’ unions, which criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul over what they described as inattention to officer safety and retirement benefits, Spectrum News NY1 reported. At a press conference in Lower Manhattan, Blakeman said the state should spend more on law enforcement pensions: “When you look at the budget, you have to set priorities first and then you have to figure out how much you can spend.” Hochul campaign spokesman Ryan Radulovacki responded, “We’re just thirteen days from never having to hear from Trump’s loudest puppet defending ICE’s abuses of power, praising Trump’s war raising gas prices, or saying he’d ‘never be disloyal’ to his boss.” Hochul was not on the campaign trail Wednesday; her office announced 120 regulatory actions across more than 20 state agencies that it estimates will save New Yorkers tens of millions of dollars and more than 5 million hours a year, Spectrum reported.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Douglas Keith, a longtime staffer at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, as executive director of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, the New York Jewish Week (JTA) reported. JTA described Keith as a Jewish scholar and noted that Mamdani had been criticized after announcing the 18-member panel, which included no Jewish members. The same report said former Mayor Mike Bloomberg is sending $80 million to Democrats for the midterm elections, citing The New York Times, but none to candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America; his adviser Howard Wolfson said Bloomberg is concerned about the party’s leftward movement, especially regarding Israel.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis spent more than an hour at a roundtable at the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday advocating for Amendment 3, the proposed increase in homestead property tax exemptions, after saying in June that he did not expect to campaign for it, the Florida Phoenix reported. “You’re seeing a lot of local governments basically coming out of it and try to tell people that the sky is going to fall,” DeSantis said. He also said he “would encourage” voters to reject Amendment 1, which would increase the capacity of the state’s budget stabilization fund. On X, DeSantis wrote Wednesday evening that “property tax revenues across Florida’s 67 counties have increased nearly 100 percent” in the past seven years. Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds posted that his bus tour with running mate Bryan Avila stopped in Broward and DeSoto counties Wednesday, and Sen. Ashley Moody said she had been endorsed by the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Bukharian angle: BJ Post found no new campaign news Wednesday evening from Assembly District 28 or the Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens area. Early voting in New York begins Saturday, Oct. 24, Spectrum News noted. Election Day in New York and Florida is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and there are no results yet.

Sources: New York Post on Project Reactivation NYC ; Spectrum News on Blakeman’s endorsements ; New York Jewish Week (JTA) on Mamdani and Bloomberg ; Florida Phoenix on DeSantis and Amendment 3 ; Ron DeSantis on X ; Byron Donalds on X ; Ashley Moody on X