| Good afternoon! As we near Election Day, we want to make sure this newsletter is serving you in all the ways you need. That's why we're asking that you take this quick survey. Thanks very much. | | At This Point, Is Anyone Changing Their Mind? | | In New York's 11th Congressional District—the lone slice of New York City currently represented by a Republican—about 15 percent of voters are currently undecided.
And those are the voters that Adam Barbanel-Fried, a Democratic canvasser, hoped to win over during a recent evening in Staten Island's Rosebank neighborhood.
But he wasn't out to talk about Max Rose, the Democratic candidate who's trying to unseat Republican Dan Donovan. In fact, he often wouldn't mention Rose by name.
Instead, he'd open with: "If you had two minutes to talk to President Trump about the job he's doing for you and your family, what would you tell him?"
From there, he tried getting Trump voters to talk about their personal lives, any possible dissatisfaction with the president, and hopefully, their willingness to put a check on the White House by electing a Democrat.
Peer-reviewed studies have found this technique, called "deep canvassing," changes minds 10 percent of the time. In less than a week, we'll find out if that's enough.
| | PSA: Remember to Flip Your Ballot Over In New Jersey, voters get to decide whether to let the state borrow $500 million in bonds to fund schools. And in New York City, voters get a trifecta of ballot questions: Should community board members have term limits? Should we increase public matching funds for candidates for city office? And should we create a commission to strengthen civic engagement? Don't skip over these! (WNYC News) | | Bob Hugin Isn't a Trump Republican, Says Bob Hugin The GOP's Senate candidate in New Jersey gave $100,000 to the Trump campaign, he served on the Trump transition team, and he showed up to the RNC as a Trump delegate. Since then, he's said he opposes the president on offshore drilling, infrastructure spending, abortion, and the tax bill. That is, he's pitching himself as a moderate. But if Mitch McConnell remains the Senate majority leader, there's little reason to expect Hugin's policy ideas to go anywhere. (WNYC News) | | Why New Jersey Democrats Are Pulling Punches on Immigration Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat running in NJ-11, doesn't list "immigration" as an issue on her website. Neither does Andy Kim, the Democrat in NJ-3. And Tom Malinowski, who's running in NJ-7, has actually called for more border security. This appears to be in line with a memo sent out by two Democratic think tanks, which urged candidates to avoid the issue. Their view: Anti-caravan rhetoric riles up Republicans, but #AbolishICE won't motivate white suburban Democratic voters. (WNYC News) | | Tune-In Alert: NJ-3 Congressional District Debate | |  | | Democrat Andy Kim will debate Republican Tom MacArthur live tonight on NJTV. (Julio Cortez/AP Images) | | | New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District, which includes two counties in the Philly suburbs, is starkly divided.
Incumbent Tom MacArthur, unlike other Republican congressman from the state, is hardly a moderate. He was the lone New Jersey Republican who supported Trump's tax bill, and he spearheaded a 2017 effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Andy Kim, his Democratic challenger, is a 36-year-old former Rhodes scholar who worked in the Obama White House as a national security aide.
They're essentially tied in the polls. And the race heated up even further after an outside Republican group recently sent out racist mailers about Kim.
Tonight, the two candidates will face off in their final live televised debate, moderated by NJTV News Senior Correspondent David Cruz. It starts at 8 p.m., and will stream online.
| | Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. | | | | |
